Taiming the Flame
by AuriSolo21
Summary: Draco is forced to battle an angry mother who happens to be the most feared mage in history.


129

1

**A Little Outburst **

There was a silence as Lydia sat in her seat reading her book on Tarot Readings, she kept having dreams, seeing her death, as if it were in a movie. So, after a few months of it she kept searching for a meaning, not finding anything. She had her legs crossed at the ankles and her book close up to her face, and little did she know that her entire body was being studied by a certain boy by the name of Dean from across the classroom. He studied the way her legs curved and how her stomach seemed effortlessly flat, how her chest rounded up by her arms as she read in her chair. He studied the way her hair fell over her headband and shinned under the classroom lights, it was a raven black that was rare to Caucasian students. He licked his lips as his gaze went to her pale face, round and beautiful with a thick bottom lip and a curvatious top one that was thin and expressive, her eyes were a light golden brown that still read the words of her book intently. Dean looked at her, as he always did and planned how he could win her over _this _time. He got up from his chair and stalked over to where Lydia was sitting, he leant on her desk and smiled cockily sure of himself as usual. She looked up as he cleared his throat and wiped a piece of dirty blonde hair from his green eyes.

"Hey Lydia, offer still stands you know, that new slasher flick looks pretty good." He laughed and pulled her book out of her hands. "Tarot Readings...interesting book there Lydia, think you can tell my future?"

"Yes actually," she smiled and glanced at the clock, about thirty seconds until the bell was going to ring. "The bell will ring, Mrs. Parsley will come in and yell at you for being out of your seat, you'll blush and sit down and then bother me again after class when you know full well that my answer will be as it always is, no." she smiled as Dean laughed and then jumped as the bell rang and sure enough Mrs. Parsley came in and gave him a look of complete hell.

"Mr. Tans, must I remind you every day that I want my students promptly in their seats by the bell? Or must I yet again serve you another after school detention with the assistant principle?" Dean blushed and hurried to his seat, but didn't forget to look back at Lydia with slight surprise and admiration. She winked and quickly looked up at the black board.

Of course after class as she was packing up her book bag Dean returned with a smile.

"Well Lydia, so far your predictions have been right on target, but one thing still stands free for mistelling, your answer to my question."

"I never mistold anything for as I said before, my answer is no, as it always will be." Lydia tried to walk past him but two of his large dumb sidekicks blocked her.

"Lydia you remember Curtis and George..."

"Sadly, yes. But if you think showing off your brute squad is going to win me over you can think again." She turned back around to face Dean ; he had a smug smile on his face.

"Just one date Lyd, that's all I ask. I promise you'll enjoy yourself."

"Awful sure of ourselves aren't we Dean ?"

"All I want is a date."

"Yes I've known that since the ninth grade."

"And I won't give up any time soon. Saying yes is the only way to get me to stop pestering you, you know that right? I mean how could a smart girl like you not know that?" his two bruits began to laugh and Lydia looked down at the floor.

"I know that."

"Unless you like me pestering you almost every day..."

"No, actually I don't." Lydia sharply looked up again and stared Dean in the eyes. "You promise me that if I go on one date with you, you'll leave me alone for the rest of our high school careers and college in case of the dreadful event that we actually attend the same one...and I will consider it."

"I promise." Dean smiled as his brutes stepped aside. "Tomorrow at seven, I'll pick you up."

Lydia walked home everyday, with her books huddled up against her chest and her eyes focusing on the ground, this day, she had two things on her mind. Dean's convincing her to go on a date with him and the note from the principal, wanting a conference with her parent about her unusual temperament.

She held the note in her hand, crunching it up, wishing she could set it on fire. It did feel a little hot in her hands as she walked past the old pharmacy that was a block away from her neighborhood.

She didn't understand how she was in the wrong. She reviewed the event in her head, she had been sitting quietly in her own desk minding her own business when Mrs. Howell came up to her and rapped her desk with her ruler five times, missing her hand by less than a millimeter. Lydia looked up from her desk with a contained scowl on her face.

"What?" she asked with confusion. "I was paying attention!"

"What is the pythagoreum theorem?" Lydia sat puzzeled, looking around the class for help. Maybe she hadn't been paying attention in class, because she didn't remember the discussion leading there.

"I-I" she then paused, her face turning red and her eyes squinting. "What does that have to do with British History?" the teacher laughed.

"Obviously you weren't paying enough attention, because if you were, you would have quickly come to the conclusion that this isn't math class." Mrs. Howell rapped her ruler on her crossed arm, a superior look on her face. Lydia growled under her breath and starred the teacher down.

"I don't think that's a fair assumption...and you know." She paused with a smile on her face, her temper close to the brink. "to assume things is to make an ass out of you and me-"before she could finish Mrs. Howell's face went red and she picked Lydia up out of her chair by the collar.

"To the principal! Utter defiance!"

Clearly the situation was unfair, Lydia expected at least five more minutes before old Mrs. Howell had lost it. She scuffed her shoes on the old cobblestone that signified the entrance to her neighborhood. Her guardian, Albus Dumbledore, liked to live in old communities that were once whole mannors to rich lords later transformed into small provinces and now little neighborhoods that were made up of old houses and cobblestone streets. Lydia wondered what it would have been like to grow up in America, where nothing was older than the 1400's settlers, for the Indians hadn't built anything permanent. She was sure the cobblestone she had just dislodged and kicked was older than Queen Elizabeth I.

She started to let her body slack a bit, dreading having to tell her nanny, Tess why she had lost her temper yet again.

Lost her temper, posh, Mrs. Howell would be lucky to even survive imagining Lydia loose her temper. It usually took people by surprise, being that in any other occasion she was usually a nice young lady...maybe a little on the sarcastic side but pleasant enough.

At that moment as she began to mumble to herself and scoff little insults to an invisible Mrs. Howell, a large python came out of the grass and stopped just in front of her feet. Suddenly she was reminded of an article she had read five years ago about a python mysteriously escaping from the zoo...she wondered if this was the one, since it was yet to be found. She froze and held her breath, trying hard not to loose control and drop her books, thus frighten the creature and cause it to attack.

"Do you knowwww where Marcussssssssss SSSSSSSSStreet isssssssssss?" she blinked a few times, the snake had lifted the front half of its body up to be almost eye level with her. She moved her mouth a bit but no words were coming out. "Wellllllllllll cant you sssssssssspeak?" he cocked his head and let his tounge come out, almost hitting her nose. Lydia rose her hand and pointed to her left.

"Its-its, um, that way." He nodded and came closer, now his tounge did manage to tickle her nose.

"Youuuu need to work on your grammar sssssssssskilllsssssssssssss." He winked and slithered off back into the grass towards Marcus Street. Lydia let out the breath she had been holding, blinked and felt her forehead.

"I must be going delirious." She shook her head and walked on, trying to forget about the python who didn't care much for her grammatical skill.

"I don't know what to wear!" Lydia threw the last outfit left in her closet down on the ground and collapsed onto her bead, her nanny, Tess sighed and sat next to her.

"Why do you care so much what you will be wearing if you don't even like this boy?"

"That's the problem, I do." Lydia looked up at Tess with tears in her eyes. "I like him a lot."

"Then why have you refused him all these years, and talked so awfully of him?" Tess smiled and began to refold some of the clothes around her; Tess was old and kind with a permanent twinkle in her eyes.

"I'm afraid of him Tess, of what he does to me. And I do hate him, at the same time, he's so sure of himself and cocky, and he bullies everyone around including his two best friends!"

"Well there must be something good about him then, if you like him as well."

"His smile, his persistence, and he is pretty smart. I don't know, I'm just afraid of what I will do with him as well. He's so good at getting people to do what he wants."

"And what does this have to do with what you're going to wear?"

"Everything!" Lydia threw her arms in the air and let out a big breath. "What I wear will tell him exactly what I think of him, I don't want to wear something too nice because then he will think I really do like him, not something ugly because then he'll think I hate him completely!"

"Then find a nice in between. What about your red velvet tank top and nice jeans...with your new boots? That would look nice but not too nice."

"I don't know about red velvet..."

"But it looks so nice with your hair; Albus says you look so beautiful in red."

"Albus? You mean Dad? When did he say that?"

"Oh some time ago on one of his summer visits, you were in your red Christmas dress playing dress-up and he smiled and told me that while you were twirling in front of the mirror. I don't think you knew he was watching."

"No I didn't."

Tess smiled and started to hang up some of the clothes as Lydia began to get dressed. "Mr. Dumbledore's been quite a good father being the circumstances and all."

"Being that he's not my real Father..." There was silence as Tess nodded and left the room, mentioning that, Lydia noticed often had that effect on the servants, and Dumbledore. She felt sadness though as she remembered she barely knew Dumbledore and barely remembered her real father, she jumped though when she heard the door bell ring and noticed the time. "Oh Tess he's here and I'm not ready!"

"You had a good time tonight right?" Dean asked as he slipped his arm around Lydia, she smiled up at him as she threw her empty soda cup away.

"Yeah I guess so. You weren't too conceded..."

"Oh thank you, you know I try."

"Only when you're not around your friends, I'm sorry I spilt my pop corn on you." She looked down at her feet as they walked and blushed.

"It's ok, I jumped a little too when the guy came back alive, you think that wouldn't surprise anyone anymore being that it's so overdone."

"Yeah you would think." Dean held open the door to the theater as they left and walked out into the brisk night air; Lydia grabbed her shoulders and looked around at the vacating parking lot.

"Do you want to grab something to eat?" Dean asked as they began to walk to his car. "If you're hungry or anything..."

"Oh no I'm fine, thanks." She smiled as he opened the car door for her. "Thanks." He ran to the other side after he closed it when she was in and jumped in himself and quickly turned on the heater.

"Its cold out there, are you cold?"

"A little." Lydia felt awkward as he began to take off his jacket. "Oh no thanks, the heaters fine..." she looked down as he raised his eyebrows and threw the jacket in his back seat.

"Fair enough, I couldn't expect you to be agreeable the entire night." He started the car and Lydia furrowed her brow.

"What is that supposed to mean? Me be agreeable? What about you? Oh maybe I was expecting too much thinking that just maybe sometimes you weren't always thinking you were this irresistible perfect guy." Dean looked at her sharply and pulled over to the curb.

"Is that what you think?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, why do you think I always said no to you? Because I enjoyed you pestering me everyday? No, it's because you are intolerable almost 90 percent of the time I see you! You act like a spoilt brat who thinks the world should revolve around him, wake up Dean , it doesn't!"

"Oh well look who thinks she's Miss Saint of the Sophmore Class!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Lydia crossed her arms and stared him right in the eyes. Dean frowned and looked at his steering wheel.

"Nothing." Dean seemed to calm down as his face and body grew less tense, he looked back at Lydia. "I'm sorry ok."

"No what was that supposed to mean?"

"You never give up do you?"

"Neither do you."

"Well you go around like you're better than everyone else too, you don't let anyone get close to you and every time someone tries to talk to you, you give them some smart remark, toss your hair and walk away. You're always putting me down and my friends, sometimes I think you really do think you're the goddess of the universe."

"I do not."

"But that's how you act."

"That's just what I said about you, you're trying to turn this around on me, and it won't work."

"I know I'm an ass with my friends, and I'm sorry...but it's true, half the time I don't want to talk to you because I know you will just shoot me down, you know how much that embarrasses me in front of my friends? But I ask you anyway, praying one day you'll say yes, instead of say how stupid I am or how I should just give up, but I won't give up on you Lydia, I can't." Lydia sat dumbfounded, her eyes wide and about to water.

"The only reason I'm mean to you is because you're mean to everybody else."

"I realize that, and I'm sorry, I'll try to change ok, just as long as you change with me." Lydia nodded and started to shiver, Dean began to lean in, she grew more nervous as his lips came closer, and then when they touched hers he literally froze, his skin became as hard as stone. Lydia screamed and jumped out of the car, she cried and ran home screaming to Tess of what happened. Dean disappeared and Lydia was aloud to stay home from school for the last few days of the school year, she feared each day that came closer to Dumbledore's return home as she realized more and more that it was her fault Dean turned to stone.

2

**A Second Meeting**

Dumbledore's smile faded as he walked in the door and saw many members of the Ministry of Magic at his home waiting for him. Especially the face of Lucious Malfoy, he smiled as he held his cane in front of him.

"Our little problem has finally proven herself dangerous Dumbledore."

"What has happened?" Albus asked calmly as he sat down and took some tea from a tray Tess was holding, she looked worried and her mouth was drawn down in a frown.

"Oh she didn't mean to do it sir, poor girl is just scared to death."

"He didn't ask you servant." Malfoy sneered.

"I would take it Lucious that Tess here knows more about the matter than you do...what has happened Tess?" Tess took a deep breath and Lucious smiled.

"Oh sir, it was that dreadful boy, Dean, she didn't mean to, she was just scared."

"She killed him sir,"

"Petrified!" Tess corrected with great strength in her voice. "Don't make matters more serious than they already are Lucious!" Malfoy's eyes glowed at Tess' outburst.

"Petrified then sir, by kissing him. They were obviously on a date and he went to kiss her and she petrified him Dumbledore. That's the story from the girl." Malfoy smiled as Dumbledore rose to his feet and set his tea down.

"Where is she?"

"First we must decide what to do with the girl." Malfoy tapped his cane as the others nodded with agreement. "She is obviously just as dangerous as I predicted she would be years ago."

"Funny how you seem so happy about this Malfoy, with your familys questionable dealings..."

"Dumbledore I propose that I take on the girl, since you have not seemed fit to raise her."

"Is that the agreement of the Ministry?" As Dumbledore finished his question a friendly face stepped out of the crowd.

"We agreed that she now reside with the Malfoys, as long as she also attend Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn to control and use her magic for good." Mr. Weasley smiled and held out the papers of agreement. Dumbledore smiled and took the papers.

"Well then I guess it is settled, Lucious Malfoy, I trust you to care for Miss Lydia Riddle." He smiled and shook Malfoys hand. "You do indeed have your work cut out for you."

"Indeed."

"Now if you all will let me see the girl and give her my regards..." Tess nodded and began to lead Dumbledore away. He was lead upstairs to Lydia's room, all her things were packed and she sat on her bed facing her window. Tess wiped a tear from her eyes and shut the door behind her, leaving Dumbledore alone with Lydia.

"Are they going to send me back to that place? I remember them, they came the night my Father disappered."

"No they are not, you are just going to another home that is all."

"Another home? Where?" Dumbledore sat down next to her and tried to smile.

"One unlike this one, Lucious Malfoy has requested to be your new guardian. He is very revered in the magical world."

"Yes the magical world, Tess told me about that the night it happened."

"Dean 's fate was not anything of your fault."

"Yes it was, I was scared, I turned him to stone!" Lydia began to cry and turned away to her pillow.

"Now now, don't worry, I must admit the home of Malfoy is not a place I would recommend to send you but there has been an agreement that has made me more willing to let you go, I run a school for children like you, Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that is where you will go, so in turn you will see me more than you ever have."

"Then why are you sending me to live with them...I'm not a witch...I shouldn't go there."

"No one says you are, but you do have the magical blood, and it needs to be taught to control itself and you need the proper education and support for your situation."

"My situation." Lydia scoffed out the words and then looked at Dumbledore, his face seemed to change as he looked at her.

"Welcome to no longer being ignorant child."

3

**Meeting the Malfoys**

Lydia came down the stairs of the Malfoy mansion with an unsure look on her face. She had only met Lucious the night before and was hurried off to her own room. The morning had come uneasily to her since she had spent the entire night thinking about Dean and what she had done to him. Mrs. Malfoy, a lovely looking woman waited at the foot of the stairs. She looked like she was usually a stern woman but she smiled up at Lydia broadly.

"Good Morning Miss Riddle!" she quickly took Lydia's hand and lead her to their grand kitchen. "Sadly my son has already departed for Diagon Alley for his school supplies with his father, you will meet him later." Narcissa snapped at a houseelf in her conversation that was late brining out some tea. "Foolish things, never can do anything right." She smiled and took some tea.

"You have a son?" Lydia asked with a quavering voice, the thought of Dean reentered her mind and she began to blush, all she needed was another boy around to petrify.

"Yes Draco, he is just your age actually." Narcissa smiled. "Do you know anything of your father?" Lydia's answer was interrupted as Draco and his father came storming in, Draco threw his bags on the kitchen table almost causing Lydia to spill her tea.

"You wouldn't _believe _who dared to insult me today at the Alley!" Draco was steaming. "Ron Weasley! Can you believe it!" Even Lucius seemed to be fuming a bit as he set the rest of the new books down gently on the table.

"We ran into them today when we were looking at new brooms, and Ron said something quite disturbing to our son, but it is no matter to get all worked up over." Then he looked down at Lydia and smiled. "One thing our son still needs to learn is that some family's opinions are not as good as others and do not matter." Draco's attention was quickly averted to the young girl at the table looking up at him in shock, he quickly acquired a broad smile and held out his hand.

"Why hello, I'm Draco..." Lydia just kept staring at him for a few moments before she quickly touched his hand and then pulled away. "You must be Lydia, how did you ever manage growing up with _Dumbledore?"_ Lydia kept her face calm as her anger quickly rose.

"It wasn't so bad actually." She bit her lip and looked at Narcissa, "You were saying something?" She felt she would rather talk about her father than Dumbledore at the moment. Draco scoffed and looked at his father who only smiled.

"Come Draco let the ladies talk, I have some things to explain to you." Draco left the room, still starring at the new young girl who had invaded his home late in the night. She seemed pretty enough, if not somewhat enchanting, but her complete rudeness to him made him close to exploding.

"You asked me about my father?" Lydia continued.

"Yes, if you knew anything about him?" Narcissa's eyebrows went up in waiting for the answer. Lydia coughed and scooted closer to the mother...she was used to not being aloud to talk about what she knew...or more so remembered.

"I know he used to be a great man, I remember the last night I saw him...I must have been but a year old...so the memory is strange and altered...but enough to know something about him."

"Yes, he was very powerfull...go on."

"I remember he was going out to find someone, he was dressed in dark robes...he lent over my crib and kissed me goodbye...my mother was screaming and then a bright flash came from him and she died I think...but I wasn't afraid...I don't know why...and then I was taken to this dreadful place, where creatures in dark robes came in and out of the hallways, then soon I found my self at Dumbledore's..." Lydia stopped, realizing how strange and disturbing the memory actually was, she felt chills going up her spine.

"Well, we are glad to have you here Lydia, and when the time is right, Lucious will tell you everything you need to know about your father." Lydia nodded and finished her tea. "You should go upstairs and talk to Draco a while...maybe he can show you some of his things...I'm sure that will entertain you." Lydia nodded and got up, feeling uneasy about whether she liked Narcissa or not...she knew one thing though, Draco made her very nervous. One thing she did notice before leaving the table was the _Daily Prophet _spread out, on the headlines was THREE WIZARDS VANISHED, THE MISISTRY LEFT PUZZLED.

But deciding to ignore the story, she obeyed and climbed the stairs to Draco's room, which was across from her's as Lucious had told her the night before...she knocked on his door uneasily and it took a moment for it to creak open.

"What do you want?" Draco asked, his grey eyes peering out and looking her up and down.

"You're mother sent me to look at your toys." She said in a matter of fact tone , Draco's eyebrows went up as he opened the door.

"Did she?" he pulled her in and closed it right away. "I suppose she wants us to be the best of friends." He stated with false exsightment.

"That's the feeling I got about it at least." Lydia rubbed her arm and looked around, his room was filled with all sorts of things, all of them looked expensive. "You have a lot of stuff...I bet you never get bored..."

"Are you kidding...I've been bored all summer!" he kicked his bed and looked at Lydia, cocked his head and walked towards her. "Did Dumbledore get you a lot of things...or lock you in some attick for being Voldemort's daughter?"

"Who's daughter?" Draco almost choked on his own breath at her reaction.

"Who's daughter? Who's daughter? Man, did they shelter you! You don't know who you are!?"

"Well, I know who I am...but... no clue here as to who _Voldemort _ is." She moved back away from Draco and his piercing gaze.

"Man, I bet they didn't even teach you magic."

"No, I went to high school and learned normal things...like reading, writing, math, and science...with a little history and other stuff, like art and music...but I guess kids like you wouldn't really care about that stuff..."

"Damn right, I hate school."

"Even wizarding school?"

"Of course."

"But you're bored here as well..."

"Naturally." Draco smiled and sat on his bed, picked up a magazine and began to flip through it.

"So what _do _you like to do." This question seemed a hard one for Draco as he looked up at her, scrunched his brow and frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"Well exactly what it seems, what do you like to do...and we can do that, because I'm almost certain you don't want me standing here watching you flip through a magazine." Draco looked at her with curiosity.

"Do you have something in mind?" he smiled a bit, thinking of things he would like to do with any girl as attractive as herself alone in his room.

"Well, I don't know...I've been curious...can you fly?"

"Oh..." he said rather dissapointed and looked at his broom. "You want to fly...well, I guess I could show you." He got up slowly and retrieved the broom from a heap of things on his floor.

"You actually fly on brooms?"

"Of course what else?" he grabbed her hand and lead her down the stairs and out to the back yard. "You can ride with me if you want." He seemed a little gentler now that he was out of the house, Lydia took his offered hand and stepped over the broom behind him.

"How is it going to hold the both of us? Wont this hurt...I mean that's a lot of pressure in one area, this handles pretty-"she was cut off as Draco pushed off the ground and brought them high into the sky, Lydia held onto him for her dear life, burying her face into his back. "Are we back on the ground yet?" she asked as he stopped the broom in the air and looked around at the view.

"Not nearly...take a look." He pointed out to the horizon and held her hands around him with his other hand. "Don't worry, I wont let you fall off, you're far too important for that." Lydia looked up, trusting him a little more...the horizon line caught her breath as she admired the pure blue of the sky.

"Draco, its beautiful."

"Yeah its ok, you get used to it after a while." She sighed and couldn't help but think how annoyingly jaded he was.

"I cant imagine getting used to this."

4

**The Train to Hogwarts**

Lydia looked outside of the car window, the train station was indeed large and she had a hard time imagining a platform 93/4. She thought of that headline again, three wizards dissapering seemed just as odd for the magical world and she thought it would be for her own. she scooted up to try and see if Narcissa had it on her but Draco had accidentally bumped her arm and distracted her from the notion. Draco sat next to her in the back seat, looking at some cards he got out of a chocolate frog box.

"What's that?" she asked trying to ease her nerves about her new school away from everything.

"Cards...they're famouse people of our world...I'm just waiting for them to put my father in here."

"Patience Draco." Narcissa chimed as she turned around and smiled at him. "Soon enough, he'll be the most saught after card." Draco smiled.

"So who's that?" Lydia asked while poking Draco's arm. He looked at her, half annoyed but happy her attention was on him and not his mother for a change.

"Oh, that's Digroy Lockheart...he's a fool, I thought they disbanded these cards..."

"He looks like a blooming idiot to me...look at that expression...what did he do to get on a deck of cards?" Lydia asked, she had become a little more comfortable with Draco over the past few days spent with him. He still sometimes got on her nerves, but not enough for her to dislike him any, and for the time being he was the only person she could be friends with...and to her surprise, she actually sometimes found him enjoyable when he wasn't making snide remarks.

"Well, lets just say he wasn't too smart and stole a lot of people's spells, he was at our school teaching a few years back...Snape should have the job if you ask me."

"Agreed." Lucious chimmed in from the front. "He could defiantly maintain things better than any of the others...maybe even keep Potter in better check."

"Potter?"

"Oh you'll hear about that hot-headed _snob _soon enough...thinks he's better than everyone else just because Voldemort didn't kill him..."

"My father tried to kill him?" the car went silent and stayed that way until it pulled into a parking spot. They all got out and servants took Draco and Lydia's luggage out of the back...Draco having a considerable amount more...They walked into the train station and Lydia began to notice many children carrying owls and large suitcases and trunks. She leant over to Draco who had suddenly gotten a very snobby stuck-up look on his face.

"Are they all going to Hogwarts?" he took a moment to answer her, as if he were judging what to say that would be socially acceptable.

"Yes, most of them...a pitty though, a good half of the lot are mudbloods and don't deserve to set foot in a wizarding school...you and me...we're pure blooded and are better than the lot of those gits." He smiled at her and stopped with his parents in front of a brick divider between platforms nine and ten. "When we get there you should really stick with me, some kids like the Weasleis might try to taint your good name-"

"A name which shouldn't be revealed all to soon Draco." Lucious chimed in. He looked at Lydia with a strange glint in his eyes, as if she were his last hope of something. "Only the trustworthy should know her true identity, for now, she is simply Lydia...and we have taken her in." His tone was very matter-of-fact and Draco nodded, disappointed that he couldn't brag about having Voldemort's only child with him. "Lydia, as soon as you get there, teachers will be attacking you. They will most likely want a private discussion, bring Draco for safety, they'll be sure to watch their tounges around him for his will be sure to report all that they say back to me...and sertain professors you will find very helpful, while others may be unjust...just stick with your house and your true friends." As he said this he put his hands on Draco's shoulders and smiled. Lydia began to feel very uneasy.

"Where's the platform?" she asked, suddenly as if by cue a few other 6th years began to run towards the wall, the red-headed boy was laughing rather loudly and then they dissapered right before crashing into it. "Do-do we have to do..._that?"_ she looked at Narcissa, hoping for a kind, 'no you don't honey, those are just crazy boys.', instead she just smiled and nodded.

"Here, darling, Draco will help you through," she grabbed Lydia's hand and placed it into Draco's outstretched one, he looked like he was absolutely beaming. "Now hold tight and run with him, we'll send your things through," she smiled and gave them a little shove towards the wall. Lydia shut her eyes as Draco brought her through quickly, she could have sworn they were two milliseconds away from crashing into the wall when she opened her eyes and suddenly found herself in another train station. Many other kids were gathered around with their luggage getting onto the large train. She looked at Draco and he smiled.

"We get on the train..." he became distracted as he saw the group with the distinctly red-headed boy again, he dragged her with him as he walked towards them. "Well, well, well, Potter back for another year of embarrassment is he?" the whole group seemed disappointed to see him, Lydia felt disappointed in herself to be standing next to him.

"What do you want Draco, we really don't have time for you today." The girl with frizzy hair chimed in. Lydia looked at her oddly, she had never seen any girl so animated in her life.

"Oh just to give my yearly condolences, welcoming the _famous _ Harry Potter back for another year at Hogwarts...and oh wont it be an eventful one?" He asked with a sneer.

"I don't plan for it to be any more exsighting than the others." Harry said tiredly. He looked very annoyed to see Draco. "Now if you don't mind, I need to finish getting my trunk on the train." Draco scoughed and walked away, again dragging Lydia. She decided to shrug and wave good-bye hoping they wouldn't think she was of the same attitude of Draco. They got onto the train and claimed a car quickly with two very big ugly boys.

"These are my mates, Crabbe and Goyle." Draco sat down and let Lydia stand in front of them alone.

"Is this her?" the bigger one asked, Lydia began to wish Draco were holding her hand again and she quickly plopped down next to him, feeling very violated for some reason. Maybe, it was the way they were looking at her.

"Yeah, not bad huh?" she was ready to smack Draco.

"I need air." Lydia suddenly stood up and worked her way past Crabbe and Goyle.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked like a parent to a dissobidient child.

"To the restroom...do I need an escourt or can I be trusted to go on my own?" she left before he could answer, or recover from the shock of her remark. She made her way down the narrow hall, feeling the train already move with speed, she hadn't ever realized it had left yet. She started to feel dizzy, she still didn't feel like she knew entirely what was going on, and then she saw that group again, that Potter boy. They looked at her and she stopped to gather her balance, leaning against one of the car doors...Harry came up to her, looking concerned.

"Are you alright?" Lydia looked up at him, feeling woozy.

"I need to sit down somewhere, and away from Draco..." Harry took her arm and led her to the car he was about to enter, Ron and Hermoine were already sitting, they looked up at her, with confussed looks.

"What's _she _doing here?" he asked as Harry helped her sit down.

"She needs to get away from our Slytherin buddies."

"I'm Hermoine Granger...pleased to meet you." Hermoine held out her hand, Lydia took it, and smiled weakly.

"Lydia uh...Dumbledor."

"Dumbledor!?" All three exclaimed at once, Lydia fell back fully into her seat out of shock.

"You mean as in _Albus _Dumbledor?!" Harry asked sitting down next to her.

"Well, he was my foster father, now I've been placed with the Malfoys...and believe me, it's not as great as you would think." They all laughed.

"The Malfoy's, great!? Wow, you really haven't been here before have you?" Ron laughed and put his hand on his forehead. "Ah, bloody hell, were you stuck with Draco all summer!?"

"Only a few weeks, sometimes he wasn't so bad...but when we got in public...well every time he turns into a complete snob...I get really embarrassed to be seen with him...I'm sorry about earlier."

"Oh its not your fault." Harry smiled at her and touched her shoulder. "That's just Draco, he's been that way since day one." Lydia smiled a little more and relaxed. "So who was your real family? Or don't you know?" they all leaned in with curiosity, Lydia blushed a bit and remembered Lucious' words, if Draco wasn't supposed to talk about it, she defiantly wasn't.

"I don't think I remember...I've been with Dumbledor for a long time..." Harry nodded and Ron smiled at her.

"Well you can hang out with us if you get sick of Draco...hopefully you wont get put into his house..."Ron said as he continued to smile.

"Yeah, I don't think I could have lived another day in the room across from his." Hermoine flinched at that bit of news and Lydia laughed.

"But again, sometimes he was really nice...and then it seemed he would catch himself and go back to normal."

"Draco Malfoy nice?" Ron almost exploded with laughter.

"Yes actually." Lydia felt herself become a little defensive. "The day before we had to leave he came into my room and helped me pack, and helped me catch up on what I needed to know for school...and then, he got nervous and gave me this..." she brought a little silver bracelet from under her sleeve. "He left right after giving it to me, but it was one of his best moments...I really think he wants to be friends...he just doesn't know how." Harry raised his eyebrows and looked at the bracelet.

"Lydia...I think he wants to be more than just friends if you get my drift." Hermoine giggled and Ron went red in the face.

"Wow, I never thought I'de see _Draco _with a crush!" eventually Lydia felt it was time for her to go back to Draco...they were starting to get into their school robes and she realized she had only told him she was going to the bathroom, not to another car to talk to nicer people for the whole trip. She almost ran back to her original car, bumping into other students as she passed, Draco was sitting down, already dressed as were Crabbe and Goyle.

"So," he looked up at her with an heir of authority. "Did someone need an escourt after all, we were afraid you'd drowned." His followers laughed and Lydia just fell into the seat next to him.

"I was fine, I just ran into a few people and got to talking, I'm not allowed to talk to other people?" she raised her eyebrows as if challenging him. Draco took a deep breath as if trying to control his temper.

"I just hope you stayed within your social order...I wouldn't want to catch you with mudbloods or anything like that...especially with your lineage." His mouth was tight and Lydia knew her face was going red, she was starting to get sick of all this control and didn't feel like being so nice anymore. Before she could say anything Draco looked down at her clothes. "You should change."

"Like hell I am, first that uniform is awful and second, never in front of all of you!" he looked a little taken aback as Draco starred at her long and hard.

"Fine then." He finally answered. "See if I care when you get into trouble for not being in uniform."

"I don't care if I get into trouble...I wont wear that thing, and they'll just have to- to deal with it!" Draco smiled a bit at her outright defiance...even though part of it was aimed at him.

"I cant wait to see you take on some of our teachers..."

"Neither can I." Lydia growled as she slunched and crossed her arms. She almost felt as if she should have her wand with her...she remembered she had left it in her trunk...she thought maybe with a wand...she would be more protected in her arguments.

5

**Skipping the Sorting Hat Ceromony**

The view of the castle as they rode up in the horseless carriages took Lydia's breath away, she was so taken she didn't realized she had reached over and grabbed Draco's arm to make sure it was all real, she didn't even hear him laugh at her reaction. It all seemed a blur as they walked into the great dining hall, and she smiled when she saw Dubledore and other adults approaching her past the crowd of students.

"Lydia." Dumbledor leant down and hugged her warmly, looking almost surprised she had survived the past few weeks at the Malfoy's. "We all want an audience with you before we get things started." Draco smiled and put his arm over hers,

"I hope you don't mind if I join her, by my Father's specific request."

"Oh I was actually counting on it." Dumbledore smiled, he led them out of the dining hall and to a class room, the other teachers followed and Lydia noticed they were eyeing her most curiously. They entered and Lydia with Draco sat at one of the desks, she felt slightly embarrassed that Draco seemed so smug. "We all felt this was the proper time to sort you into your house, and to tell you about your father before students can after they inavoidably find out." Dumbledore took out an old tattered hat, the teachers watched with stone faces. Lydia felt like she was almost in a courtroom being judged for a horrible crime. She nervously stepped up to Dumbledore as he summoned her, and Draco for the first time in a while, looked nervous. With a smile her late Foster-Father put the hat onto her head, Lydia froze, as a voice began to sound inside her head.

"Ah yes, many many years back I've run into a mind as talented as yours before...yet the ambition is hidden with in a cloud of self-doubt...what house would best suite your needs?" Lydia began to open her mouth in question, but the hat spoke again before she could ask her question. "You have a smart mind, good enough to end in Ravenclaw, and brave enough for Gryffindor..." Draco's mouth began to open, the hat spoke allowed since it was such a small audience, all the teachers seemed to be watching with bated breath, Lydia just began to wonder what all these houses were... "Loyal and true, a Hufflepuff house could suit you...but I see your end in Slytherin my friend." Draco smiled as well as one of the taller teachers with dark slick hair. Lydia watched as Dumbledore removed the hat from her head with a small smile.

"There we have it, you've been placed in Slytherin."

"Um, one question Fa- I mean, Headmaster." Dumbledore stopped and again the teacher's eyes seemed stuck on her every move.

"Why of course Lydia, what do you need to know?"

"Well," she began as she straightened herself in her chair. "What _are _ the houses, what does that mean?" Dumbledore laughed and placed the hat down gently.

"Why of course, no one explained that to you did they?" Lydia shook her head no and felt a little embarrassed, apparently to the Wizard world this must have been common knowledge. "The houses are where you will live, and where most of your friends come from. There are Gryffindor who pride themselves at being brave, Ravenclaw for the clever minds, Hufflepuff for the loyal and then your house, Slytherin who are known for being cunning and ambitious."

"I'm not ambitious, even the hat saw that." Lydia argued with eyes wide, she didn't really see herself fit for any of the houses, least of all the cunning and ambitious one.

"The hat also sees things that you don't...Draco here is also in Slytherin, and your house sponsor, is Severus Snape, he is our potions teacher." Dumbledore waved his hand towards the taller man with dark hair, he bowed a bit and gave her a tight smile. "The rest you will meet more so during your classes." The others nodded and then Dumbledore's smile faded away and his face took on a tone of all seriousness. "Now for the most important reason as to why we have brought you away from the beginning of the year feast..." he looked all around the room and even Draco leant forward in anticipation. "The truth about your father witch has been held from you for so many years." An older woman stepped up, she had a tight bun as well as tightly pursed lips.

"Dumbledore, do you think this is wise...it may disrupt-"

"Now now Minerva...I think I of all people are best to know how this news will effect her." He smiled and the woman stepped back, crossing her arms in a disagreeable huff. "Lydia, your father origionally started as a student here at Hogwarts, head boy in fact and in the Slytherin house. He was Thomas Marvoleo Riddle, and he was very well respected throughout the school. After graduating his powers grew as in his interest in the dark arts, he developed a following and soon became only known as Lord Voldemort," Half the teachers shuddered, Lydia didn't notice, she was too busy trying to make sense of all that was being said. "He was a very powerful and very evil man by that time, but one day, the day we found you he said out to destroy one more couple, the Potter's, but he was stopped by their infant Harry, who you may well have met by now. Supposedly Voldemort had been destroyed that night, but since Harry has come back he has decided to resurface as well, proving it possibly dangerous for you as well. Once students find out about your heritage they may treat you differently if not cruelly, and others sadly might admire you for it. The key here is, you don't have to become your father, or even think of him as such if you don't want, just do what you think is right and others will simply learn to understand." Lydia sat there in shock, feeling half as if she had known all of this her whole life, and then another like a bolt of lightning had just hit her in the chest, and things suddenly made sense, her petrifying her first kiss, the storms that came when she lost her temper, all of it. She looked at Draco...and then realized, his parents still supported this dreadful man that was her father. She shivered and looked back at Dumbledore who seemed to be able to read her thoughts with all clarity. "Don't worry yourself with it all tonight, if anything I advise you seek out Harry Potter and have a long talk with him, it may seem awkward but it could prove fruitful, you two have more in common than you think." With that Dumbledore head back to the door and the air in the room seemed to thin out, as if it had been as thick as mud before and had now lifted to a light humidity. Draco stood up and walked to Lydia, progressing to help her up out of her chair. "Come now, you must be starving and I bet the first years are eager to be sorted as well." Lydia pulled her arm back, and looked at Dumbledore.

"I think I need to discuss a few things still..." she noticed Draco's face turn to some odd expression and he let go of her.

"Fine then, but I'm still staying to hear it."

"As you wish." The other professors filed out, but Dumbledore stayed with a small smile and as Lydia sat down he pulled out the _Daily Prophet _from his robes.

"I suppose you wanted to ask me about this..." he held it out to her and Lydia looked at the article.

"Yes, about the wizards...does this have to do with my father?" she asked as she skimmed the words, Draco leant over her shoulder and looked up.

"Oh I've heard of this!" he laughed. "I heard they were all daft anyways! Probably got lost on a routine search and are stuck in some muggle subway...that's what father says at least." Dumbledore nodded and looked at Lydia.

"What do _you _think?" he asked, Lydia looked up, trying not to be fazed by Draco's explanation.

"I think this is something entirely different from what any of us could think." He smiled and took back the paper.

"I do think Draco is right about one thing though," he said as they both looked up with surprised looks on their faces. "You must be starving and the other students are eager to meet you...off you go."

6

**The Hit heard 'round the Wizarding World**

Lydia, for obvious reasons had been given her own room, smaller than the rest but that was because it only had to accommodate one person. It had been a whole week of classes and catch up in Lydia's case. Professor Snape had taken it upon himself to become her personal tuitor, drilling her harder than she thought any other teacher would have. She thought perhaps because she was part of his house and he wanted them to be the best, or for other reasons she didn't want to think about.

She came back into her room and let her books fall out of her hands and onto the floor, parchment flew about her feet as she walked towards her bed and fell into it, more tired than she had ever been in her life. She had to smile though, magic was much easier to learn than College Algebra or Biology which she would have been taking in her old school. And it was far more interesting, and to her, more useful when it came to real world applications. But, what made her tired was trying to escape Draco everyday. He followed her around, if not at some points led her, showing her off to his friends as if she were some sort of trophy. She barely had a moment to herself from the time she left her room to the time she came back to it again. Sometimes she feared he might follow her into the girls section and stay with her in her room, looking at her and talking about how wonderful he was at Quiddich or whatever else he seemed to think of at the moment.

She rolled over in her bed and thought of Harry and his friends that she met on the train, she barely got to talk to them, everytime she tried Draco would pull her away and insult them. She felt that with Draco around she would never be able to make any true friends, let alone have a moment to think outside of her room.

The next few days her frustration only grew, finally she seemed to lure away from him during lunch, again with the excuse of having to go to the rest-room. She cut a quick corner and made a run for it, heading outside to the courtyard where other students were conversing. She already had a rep for being mysterious since she refused to wear any part of her school uniform besides her robe, barely spoke, and was stuck like glue to either Snape or Draco. But her hopes rose as she spotted Harry, Ron and Hermoine conversing under a tree with great exsightment. She walked up to them, only Harry seemed slightly happy to see her.

"Lydia, it's been a while." Ron gave her an unsure wave, but Hermoine didn't even glance up, she had quickly closed the book she was showing them and kept her sharp gaze on Harry, Lydia felt very untrusted.

"Well, its been hard to escape my watch-dog." Ron let out a little laugh, which eased her mood a little bit. "Can I sit with you? Or do you mind?" Harry nodded and held out his hand for her to take a seat under the tree with them.

"Do you think we should tell her?" Ron asked with his eyes wide, Hermoine violently shook her head no.

"She's always with Draco, how do we know she wouldn't go and tell him and his goons first chance she gets?" Lydia felt almost insulted, although she could understand Hermoine's caution, they weren't treated very well by Draco.

"I don't blame you, if I'm interrupting something I can always leave." She started to turn and Harry jumped up and grabbed her arms, brining her back to their little circle.

"And when would you get your next chance to escape Draco? Hermoine, Ron, I trust her...I hope you both can learn to do the same." Ron shrugged.

"I have no arguments, never did anything to me." He looked at Hermoine, "Or you." Lydia let Harry sit her down and she smiled weakly at Hermoine, who seemed angry, confused and a little guilty all in the same.

"Fine, but the second you do anything funny, I vote her out." Hermoine stared at Lydia right in the eyes. Lydia shirked back a bit, feeling as if she had no spine at all.

"Fine." Harry smiled at her and took the book gently from Hermoine. "So here's the deal...there's been talk of Vold- you know who-"

"Lord Voldemort?" Lydia asked, all three looked at her shocked.

"Uh yeah." Harry scratched his head and looked back down at the book, its pages were all marked up in Hermoine's handwriting, Lydia saw her father's name and could make out traces of the events of his first dissaperance. "Well, the rest of the school isn't supposed to know, right now its just us and the teachers, and well, Dumbledore...that I got a warning note, supposedly from Voldemort that he's coming back and planning on sending his heir after me...we're trying to figure out who it could be. And if you read the _Daily Prophet, _Wizards, powerful ones have been disappearing left and right."

"Last time he took over my little sister...t'was the last person we suspected surely." Ron chimed in, smiling at Lydia. She smiled back nervously, she felt she should tell them what she knew about herself, but right as she opened her mouth a familiar voice rose out from the other end of the courtyard.

"Lydia! What in all bloody hell are you doing with those....those..._mudbloods!?"_ the whole courtyard seemed to stop, Lydia turned quickly, Hermoine and Ron's faces went red, Harry just touched Lydia's arm.

"Don't do anything foolish." He seemed to be telling all of them. Lydia stood up quickly, her annoyance had just passed its brink into extreme anger...she considered them her friends, and now not only in her first moments with enjoyable company, they also get insulted. The sky started to darken as she walked towards Draco. He didn't move, only looked at her like a disappointed parent.

"So...explanation?" he didn't help himself, everyone seemed to hold their breath as Lydia's fists clenched and Snape and McGonogal started to walk to the crowd. "Or are you just going to stand there? You know how disappointed my father," under his breath "and your's would be if they saw this?" that was the final straw, Lydia swung and swung hard, hitting Draco straight in the eye, knocking him down on the grownd. Everyone was still and silent for a moment until Snape and McGonogal arrived and grabbed Lydia, Snape helped Draco back to his feet who looked at her with the most curious expression. Something in between surprise, confusion and actual hurt. Lydia was still shaking with anger, she didn't even hear Ron and Hermoine laughing along with a good many other number of students. All she could really see was the look on Draco's face as he was being led off by Snape.

"I can't believe you did that" McGonogal didn't seem so angry as shocked, she even was trying to suppress a slight giggle as she led Lydia to Dumbledore's office. "You should really take this up with Dumbledore..."she laughed a bit more. "He did hit the ground rather hard...good one." She whispered and winked as she gave the password to Dumbledore's office and left Lydia standing there, waiting for the stairs to fully come down. She started to feel a little nervous as her anger began to calm down, she entered Dumbledore's office and looked around, all the paintings and strange things distracted her from her fear of having to serve detention or something like that.

"Well well, news does travel fast." Dumbledore entered with a slight smile on his face. "Truthfully I expected this sooner...but, things never are the way they said it would be." Lydia sat down across from his desk curious as to what Dumbledore meant.

"He pushed me past the brink father...uh Dumbledore-"

"Call me what you wish, as long as its not poo-head, that does so get on my nerves..."

"Oh, um ok then." Lydia shifted in her seat as Dumbledore sat down in his seat.

"So he pushed you past the brink...I suppose he's been heading towards that all week...sadly I can't let you go unpunished for this, no matter how much he may have deserved it." He paused and smiled, Lydia took a deep breath.

"How about you have to go apologize, and serve detention with Snape?"

"I guess that's reasonable." Lydia smiled a bit and got up. "Thanks for understanding."

"Not a problem...just do me a favor and try not to have any witnesses next time?" Lydia laughed and exited Dumbledore's office to see Harry, Ron and Hermoine waiting for her at the stairway.

"Hey...what are you guys doing here?"

"You've proved your loyalties." Hermoine smiled. Lydia looked at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"I've done what?" Harry laughed and put an arm around her.

"Proved to Hermoine basically that you're not at all on Draco's side when it comes to certain matters...which helps a lot." Lydia smiled a bit.

"Well if it helps things out...glad to be of service." They led her out of the hallway to a place she hadn't remembered going before. "Where are we?" she asked as they stopped in front of a portrait of a rather large woman.

"Gryffindor common room." Ron said with a smile. "Hugmungus." He proclaimed, the painting swung forward and Lydia looked in with eyes wide.

"I'm allowed in?" she paused in front of the entrance while the others went in.

"Well, we're letting you in, as long as you promise never to let anyone else in, or come a lot on your own...some other Gryffindors might get mad..." Hermoine said as she held out her hand. "But we think you deserve a place to get away from Draco...besides your room." Lydia took her hand and stepped in, it was warm and rich with red and gold, she smiled as other students looked up at her and didn't seem angry to see her there.

She felt very happy as they all sat down by the fire, she finally had a group to be with, and a place to hide. But then, a thought came to her mind...she did feel slightly bad about hitting Draco...

7

**Secrets and Mudbloods**

Lydia walked slowly back to the Slytherin house after spending quite a bit of time with Harry, Ron and Hermoine. Her feet were starting to grow heavy as she thought of Draco there waiting to give her a what for. She entered, looking around, sure enough he was sitting there, eye black as a pot of ink with a look of utter betrayal on his face.

"Sit down." He said while starring at her rather hard...suddenly any remorse Lydia had drifted away with his condenscending words. She sat down though, trying to control herself from yelling at him. "So what exactly went on out there?" he asked like a parent teaching a child a lesson after drawing on the walls with pink and blue crayons.

"Well, you insulted my friends, and I hit you...does that clear things up?" she raised an eyebrow in challenge, Draco kept his face pretty expressionless.

"So you want to start something do you?"

"Well, truthfully that all depends on you." She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, sick of his games.

"What do you mean? I've done everything for you since you step foot in my house, I've shown you around, sheltered you, made you friends of _decent _wizarding families, made sure you were never alone-"

"Exactly!"

"What!?"

"That's whats wrong Draco! You don't let me do anything on my own! I'm not a child! And I do want to make friends of my own! In fact I have! So, if you don't mind..." she tried to lower her voice again and keep from shaking all over out of anger. "Will you please just let me go...maybe then...I don't know, then I'll appreciate what you do a little more." She looked down, Draco looked confussed. "By the way, I'm sorry I hit you." She got up and left as quickly as she could, trying her best to avoid eye-contact with him. When she got back to her room she plopped on her bed once again, sighing heavily. That did not go at all how she wanted it to.

The next day in Transfiguration Lydia kept wanting to talk more to Draco, clarify things now that she wasn't as angry, but he wouldn't so much as look at her, let alone talk to her. She wished at least Harry were there, she wanted to know what they were going to say before so rudely interrupted the day before, since they didn't finish the conversation in the Gryffindor commons later that night. She sighed and barely paid attention to McGonogal or how she turned into a cat and expected everyone else to be able to turn a large object, be it a chair or whatever into a larger living thing. Draco chose to make his a dragon, Lydia watched it a while before realizing she should start her work as well. It was too late, McGonogal was already standing in front of her, glasses on the tip of her nose and tapping her wand on her crossed arms.

"Lydia...where is _your _animal?" Lydia looked up, she took in a deep breath and forgetting she didn't have her wand waved her hand and turned her trunk into a grey wolf. The whole class looked at her breathless, even Draco was looking at her now. "Just how did you do that?" McGonogal looked at her with lips tight and eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked innocently. Her heart was pounding as she realized everyone's eyes were on her.

"You didn't use your wand! Or the words for the spell!" another kid chimed in, his eyes were wider than saucers as he pointed at the wand sitting on her desk. Lydia looked down at it herself and then back up at Professor McGonogal.

"I-I didn't, I didn't realize..." to confused and caught off guard, Lydia ran out, and to the Gryffindor common room, she got to the painting and stopped, remembering what Hermoine had told her about not going there when they weren't there. She sat down under the painting and started to cry, bitterly and feeling embarrassed that it had all come to this. Eventually Harry and company did show up, Lydia had been sitting there long enough to control herself and looked up when they stopped in front of her, looking down at her sitting against the wall under the portrait of the fat lady.

"You ok?" Ron asked with a curious look.

"Yeah, just a weird day...I was hoping I could hang out with you guys for a while...just to, I don't know...relax." They all shrugged and let her in to the common room.

"So do you really think you-know-who has someone on campus?" Lydia's heart started to pound...this was all she needed. But, she didn't say a word...her father could very well have someone else...since he hadn't contacted her to her pleasure.

"I don't know Hermoine, I sure hope not..."Harry set his books down on the coffee table in front of the fireplace.

"But all those letters...and clues...he's really not going for suttleties this year is he?" Ron asked, while sitting down next to Lydia...Hermoine looked at him oddly as he sat a little close to Lydia, she didn't notice...to nervous and curious.

"What's going on?" she asked Harry as there was a pause in the conversation. They all paused and looked at her. Harry pulled out a piece of parchment from one of his books.

"This is the first one I found." He gave it to her, Lydia looked at it, at first it looked like just a stupid note you would get in class, and then she read it.

Harry-

The time will come that we end it all...soon my heir will be prevalent and we shall see who comes out alive from our final meeting...

Sincerely,

An old friend,

Riddle

Lydia's hands started to shake and she handed the note back to Harry.

"I feel ill." Ron looked at her oddly.

"You _look _ill." He said as she felt her forehead.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, she shook her head and stood up.

"I have to leave...I'll talk to you all later." She ran out, not knowing where to go...until she ran into someone hard on her way back to the Slytherin dorms.

"Oh you." Draco sneered as he gathered himself back up, he took a second look at her as she still stayed on the floor, eyes half closed and very pale. "Are you ok?" she looked up, not knowing how to respond to his genuine but rare concern.

"No...Draco...I..." she started to get up, he quickly helped her and led her back into the common room.

"What's wrong?" he sat her down, then looked around before sitting next to her. "You look like you're going to puke." Lydia paused...sadly Draco was one of the few people she _could _tell about this...now the only question was did she want to...and would it be wise too.

"I think, I think my father's coming back." Draco went pale as well, he put his hands over hers and looked her staright in the eyes.

"Why do you think that?"

"I can't tell you why...I can only tell you I'm sure he's going to try and contact me soon, and I'm very scared about it." Draco took in a deep breath and looked at her harder...she had never seen such a look on his face before.

"You shouldn't tell anybody about this, not even my father...if you hadn't noticed he's kind of on you know, _his _side." Draco stopped as some people entered, and his face immediately changed. "Besides," he continued rather loftily while standing up, "Potter would say stupid things like that anyway, hanging around with mudbloods all the time, you should be careful...you might get some _filth _on you." He gave her a very degrading look and walked away to the people who had just come in. Lydia sat there in half shock, it took her a moment to realize what was going on...she frowned. So now he was only going to be nice in secret was he? Lydia scoweled and walked back up to her room, not avoiding banging against Draco on her way up to show her disapproval of his behaivior.

"If he's going to be _that _way..." she slammed her door and progressed to plop onto her bed and sit on it with her arms crossed in a huff... "I just wont talk to him at all."

The next day in Defense Against the Dark Arts Lydia sat by Harry, Ron and Hermoine, deliberately avoiding Draco's curious gaze. The treo looked just as shocked as she passed over into the obvious Gryffindor section and set down her books.

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked with a delibertaly pleasant smile. Hermoine, recovering from the shock the fastest moved her books aside and scooted over, providing room for Lydia. She sat and took out her quill.

"So," Harry cleared his throat looking at her wand that hung out of her jean pocket. "I um, heard you, um, didn't need a wand...or words the other day." The class seemed to grow silent as he brought that forgotten subject back up to conversation. Lydia froze and seemed to wait to form the right words in her head.

"Truthfully..." she began with a deep breath. "I've never needed them, I just use it so I look normal...I don't know, I thought you _had _to so I did...but really...I don't." Just then the teacher walked in, Snape. Everyone was used to this surprise by now, but Lydia still felt odd that she had him for potions _and _Defense against the Dark Arts. He walked in with a stern look about him and tapped his wand on the desk to command the attention away from Lydia and onto him...Lydia on the other hand was very greatful.

"Now, today we will start with Vampire defense..." he smiled as some of the kids talked amoungst themselves. "You have all got your O.W.L's by now...a simple Vampire shouldn't be so frightening." Lydia lent forward, ignoring Ron's wideeyed panicted look. He moved to a long black box and tapped on it. "Just a minute...I need the room to be dark" Snape smiled and waved his wand, all the windows shut tight and all the candles went low. "This is a very old friend of mine, come on out Lord de'Snow." The coffin, which Lydia now recognized as such slowly opened, and out came the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life. His hair was long and waved, pulled back into a low blonde-pony tail. His eyes were a fierce pearcing blue that she imagined only demons or angels to have. Everyone gasped as he straightened his 1800's dress coat and clicked his bootheals on the stone flooring of the classroom.

"Hello class." He said with a malitious smile, his teeth glinted in the low light, his eyes fixed on Draco. "I know _you." _He smiled and laughed like an amused gentlman, Draco gulped and looked around him, hoping he was mistaken in who he thought Lord de'Snow was talking to. Lydia smiled.

"So what do we do?" she asked with her hand raised, Snape looked at her.

"Well, I take that as you volunteering Lydia, you get to defend yourself against my friend's attacks," he waved his wand again and the desks began to move out of the way, the other students stood up and moved out of the way as Snape layed down a circular blood red carpet in the middle of the room.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Harry asked as he backed away from the carpet. Lydia smiled, she had studied vampire lore much on her own and expected to fail miserably, but at least now she could say she had seen and fought a real vampire.

"Well, he certainly wont _kill _her...Lord de'Snow has already been fed and loves helping me train against attacks."

"Yes but-"Harry interjected as Lydia stepped onto the carpet ignoring his remarks. "None of us have prepared for this..." Snape smiled as Lydia threw her wand to Harry.

"This most likely wont prove useful." She looked at Lord de'Snow and he seemed very amused by her outright bravery or stupidity.

"Now I _don't _know you." He said as he straightened his flowery cuffs that hung from his coat.

"Good, that leaves us even because I don't know you either." Lydia squared her shoulders, ready for him to have inhuman speed and strength, she could feel everybodies eyes on her, especially Draco's, as if he were waiting for her to either cower down in fear or actually beat this new creature in front of them.

"Yes, but I know a _form _of you," he smiled as he began to slowly circle around her, Lydia felt his breath all around her, as if he were almost touching her. "You have a secret...I can see it in your mind...something you don't want anybody to know...especially...Potter." Harry straightened up, Lydia only kept her eyes looking forward, ready for him to attack her. Snape watched her closely, surprised she was doing so well.

"Everyone has secrets...why should I be so different?" she asked, keeping her jaw set.

"Because yours, my dear," he touched her hair and breathed in her scent. "My _beautiful _young _fresh _dear...yours may be lethal...at least you think so." At that moment he gripped her hair hard and pulled back so fast and hard that Lydia fell to the floor, quickly she got back on her feet and just in time saw him coming at her so fast she thought he was part of the wind, she pushed her hand forward imagining pushing him away and to her surprise as well as everyone else's he flew back and hit the wall. He growled and narrowed his eyes and used the wall to jet off back at her even faster than before, Lydia simply stepped out of the way and he crashed into Crabbe and Goyle, knocking them down as well. Lydia felt a strange power surging within her, she felt, she _believed _she could move as fast as him, and she did, in a flash she was on the other side of the room with her hand on the curtain that kept the light out of the room, Lord de'Snow took one look at her and quickly shielded himself in reflex.

"No! no, don't!" Snape snapped his fingers and Lydia paused, but did not remove her hand from the curtain.

"Remarkable," he gasped as he slowly led her away from the curtain. "If this were real you just may have killed yourself a Vampire...no one has ever done that in a first duel before." Lord de'Snow straightened up and looked at Lydia most curiously, as well as the rest of the class. Lydia began to think that with all these things she was doing, she just may end up without a single friend by the end of the year. Even Harry seemed to look at her a little more jittery-like than usual...maybe it was because of what Lord de'Snow said before he attacked.

"Now I know!" de'Snow suddenly esclaimed with the most emotion on his face that Lydia believed a Vampire could muster up. She froze and looked at him, suddenly very aware of exactly _what _he knew...she panicked and flashed her eyes, suddenly the Lord's mouth closed and he looked as if he couldn't open it. The whole class as well as Snape gasped, Lydia looked around, not believing _she _had done that. Snape gathering himself grabbed her by the shoulder rather forcibly and led her up to his office, along with de'Snow on his heels.

"Class, you may all leave early." They all looked at eachother and then quickly gathered their books and ran out. Lydia looked at her feet, feeling very unsure on what Snape wanted to do to her. "What is all this Riddle!?" Lydia gulped, she was rarely called by that name, but Snape was seething. Lord de'Snow gave her a rather angry look as well and pointed at his mouth agressivlly.

"Oh, I suppose I did that." She said rather frankly. Snape cocked his head and seethed between his tightly locked teeth.

"You think?" he gritted his teeth and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "I think you need to see Dumbledore again...and I will be writing a note home to your guardian...I think Mr. Malfoy would be most appreciative to know how..._exentful _your stay has been thus far." Lydia narrowed her eyes.

"What would _he _care...he just wanted me because I'm _Riddle's _child."Snape's eyes went wide.

"Are you accusing Lucious Malfoy of supporting he-who-must-not-be-named!?"

"I don't know, am I?" Lydia rose her eyebrows defiantly. Lord de'Snow had calmed down by now, but he still looked agitated that he was still unable to speak.

"Would you please?" Snape asked while pointing to de'Snow.

"What, you can't release the spell?" this was the last straw, Snape started to shake and his fists were clenched. Lydia crossed her arms, unwilling to give in that this was all _her _fault...though part of her kept saying in the back of her mind...that sadly..._some _of it was.

"Lydia Riddle...if you would be so kind." Snape's voice had grown shaky out of anger, she smiled malevolently and tilted her head, relulting in de'Snow letting out a deep breath and licking his lips.

"Now _that _was uncalled for!" he exclaimed while rubbing his jaw.

"On the contray I think it was _perfectly _called for!" she moved to a more defensive stance and glared at de'Snow right in the eyes. "I don't prefer everyone here knowing who my father is...I have hard enough time making friends, and with this information out I could very easily loose the few that I _do _have!"

"You mean Potter and his rif-raff?" Snape asked with a raised brow.

"YES!" Lydia's eyes flashed white as she looked back at him, temper long gone. Snape leaned back a bit and then set his mouth.

"I'm sending you to Dumbledore immediately...it might be fitting that you are expelled."

"So be it! I would rather go back to public school anyway!"

"Surely you don't mean that." Dumbledore's voice sounded from behind her, she whipped around and saw him standing there with an almost hurt look. "First term not going so well?" Snape scoffed and sat at his desk, de'Snow cowered back a bit and moved behind Snape's chair. "Professor Snape...I don't remember giving you permission to have a Vampire on campus...but since he is...I do recommend you exercise due caution...I hope you aren't planning on using him in your lessons." Lydia smiled and looked at Snape defiantly.

"Well, he did have me duel him today...that's how this whole mess got started-"

"Rubbish! She volunteered!" Snape stood up in his chair and pointed at her like a bully on the playground.

"Peace, please." Dumbledore frowned at Lydia, she felt horrible as she realized just how disappointed in her he must be. "I've notice you displaying unusual bouts of power..." he began while thumbing the end of his beard. "Power I've known no other wizard to posses...I'm beginning to think, your mother may not have been human." Every one in the room perked up, wondering where Dumbledore was heading. "Lydia, I recommend that you keep this power underwraps for some time...at least until we can get an explanation for it all...sadly we cant ask the two people who _would _know...your mother and father." Lydia seemed to feel a spark go off in her head...

"But Father...uh...Professor Dumbledore...not to point fingers but Lucious Malfoy supposedly knew my father very well...wouldn't he know?" Dumbledore smiled.

"Precicesly...I am going to write to Mr. Malfoy myself and tell him about all these recent events...sadly even about your little rift with his prized son...surely though he will want to come and see you...and perhaps provide some answers. Until then, sit tight and don't bother yourself with worrying about Mr. Potter or Mr. Malfoy...both of them will come to their senses soon enough... but for your outburst with Snape, I do fear you owe another detention..." Snape smiled a bit and looked at Lydia, even though he tended to favor those in his house...she had yelled at him, and no student yelling at him went unpunished.

"I can take her second one...since I have her first as well." Snape smiled. Dumbledore nodded and looked at Lydia.

"Well, two detentions with Professor Snape, lets hope the rest of this week doesnt result in a third." He smiled at Lydia. "And do try and control your little temper...now you should go on to your next class." Lydia nodded and then looked at Snape, feeling a little bad for yelling at him.

"I'll see you later," she added with a subdued voice, Snape, looking a little appreciative for her look of remorse nodded. Lord de'Snow however looked just as annoyed with her as before.

8

**Detention with Snape**

Lydia noticed she had been avoided for the whole rest of the week by everyone, her heart sank when Harry, Ron and Hermoine joined the club as well. She sighed and felt almost glad it was Friday, until she remembered she was supposed to serve her first detention with Snape for punching Draco. She walked slowly to his office in the dungeon, her feet dragging and her head down, she was barely paying attention when she bumped into Ron, knocking both of them down to the floor.

"Oh, hi, I'm sorry." She said flatly as she stood back up and wiped off her robe. Ron looked at her wide-eyed for a moment, he was holding his broom and looked rather dirty. "What are you doing down here...you look like you've just come from Quidditch."

"I have." He answered shortly. "I had to go make sure Snape got my essay on Vampires...remember...he assighened that yesterday? But, I wasn't there today and I asked Hermoine to give it to him for me."

"Yeah, I noticed you were gone." There was an awkward pause and Ron began to let his arm swing and hit his leg repeatedly.

"Well, I better be off then."

"Wait a minute." Lydia said, stopping him by putting her hand in front of him. "Don't tell me you three are _afraid _of me now." Ron was silent and he looked at her arm that was in his way of escape.

"Well, you _are _pretty strange...and we're beginning to think you were put in Slytherin for a reason."

"Not _all _wizards in Slytherin are bad." Lydia argued with her eyes narrowed. "Just to let you know, I'm not out to _kill _anybody, or hurt them for that matter...and if Harry wants to know what that stupid Vampire was talking about, you can tell him I'm ready to spill, but he has to meet me alone...I don't need the whole school knowing this one." She raised her arm and Ron ran off as if fire were on his heels. She rolled her eyes and opened the door to Snape's office, feeling a little releaved to be with someone who _wasn't_ afraid of her for once this week. Snape looked up from the mound of Vampire essays on his desk, he seemed tired and a bit annoyed already. Lydia sat down in the seat across from him and not feeling particulary angry with him sighed.

"You too huh?" he looked at her rather surprised. "Well," she continued in response. "This week hasn't been my cup of tea either." She crossed her arms and looked around his office. "So you have two? That's cool."

"This is not a chat hour...this is your detention." Snape growled, although he looked slightly amused...no student had ever said anything about him was "cool" before.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked with a smile. "I'm ready for anything...I mean, you can't be _too _mad that I punched Draco...I mean granted he's your favorite student...but _he _doesn't even seem that angry anymore...I mean, well I understand if you're angry about the other day...but that can be handled at my _next _detention logically, because well, that's what it's for." Snape stared at her for a good while and then took out a book, handed it to her and waited, Lydia in response looked at the title. "A History of Dark Wizzards...Why am I holding this?" she looked at Snape who simply smiled.

"Maybe it will open your eyes, it might alarm you, but I think you will find some _simularites _ in yourself and some of these Wizards...if you can call them that..." he grinned, "Maybe then, you might learn to control that temper...especially since you hold so much power." Lydia felt practically insulted as she huffed and opened it.

"So you want me to read it?"

"No, I want you to eat it. Of course I want you to read it, go on." Snape shook his head and started to go over the essays on his desk again, Lydia curious, opened it and began to read, the first one started with Oronica, an evil witch who lured very early wizards to death by tempting them with lust, then sucking the power out of them and hurling them to their doom over cliffs and waterfalls. Lydia, did not find any similarities with herself and this one. She continued on for what seemed hours, not seeing anything in order of _similarities _with any of these people. She was almost starting to get disappointed, sitting there expecting something and not being able to find it, until she knew she should be nearing her father soon, and stopped on a certain witch.

"Sharia..." the name rolled off her tounge and she looked at Snape, he was deeply immensed in Ron's essay, covering it in red ink with his Quill. She looked back down, the name seemed so familiar, as if she knew the woman.

**Sharia Lockman was born in Ireland in the early 1500's to a mage family. Mages as we debate to truly exist, but in this sense do, live for eternity and posess more power than wizards, house-elves, nymphs, fairies or elves. They are a mysterious race that seem wholly human except that they can only be killed by damage to the neck, i.e slitting the throat, hanging or be-heading. Otherwise they live on staying in their mid-twenties. **

**Sharia, when discovered claimed to be hundreds of years old and was very powerful, yet she was not evil when she first made herself known to the Wizarding World. Friendly and kind at first she was very well-liked and even came to Hogwarts to teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts course. **

**No one could explain what began to happen to her but as her power grew she became more quick to temper, not wanting to hurt people, she eventually did. And before the end of her first year teaching had killed a student. Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster terminated her employment and Sharia, before leaving lost her temper once again and went on a killing spree. Her powers were so vast she merely had to blink and the student would be dead at her feet. It took a whole team of wizards, Tom Riddle a.k.a. He-  
Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was one of them, to subdue her and lead her off to Azkaban. **

**But that was not the end of her horrors, Going insane with anger she _Killed _three Dementors and dissapered. To this day no one's knows where she is or whatever happened to her. **

Lydia shuddered and closed the book with great force, causing Snape to look up from his work.

"Ah, I see you have stumbled upon Sharia..." he smiled and took the book from her.

"Why doesn't anybody talk about her...like they do Voldemort...surely she was more powerful?"

"Ah, but she was not as attention-seeking." Snape smiled and ran his fingers along the spine of the book. "She didn't want to rule the world or take over all the wizards, she didn't develop a following or much have a purpose...she just let her power get too much of a hold over her...some say it was fear, or her temper...or fear or anger at herself...but since she dissapered and never seemed to kill again...she dissapered from our common list of worried or wizards to be feared." Lydia sat in her chair aghast.

"Her temper did all that?" she still felt the shivers... "You don't think I would amount to that do you?"

"Surely not!" Snape laughed, "Sharia was much more powerful than you, and as I understood form word of mouth, a little excentric before hand anyway...they are the ones that say she lived too long and simply snapped...anyways...this was only to serve as a warning that one day you just might _hurt _ someone you don't want to with that temper and your power...so be cautious." He rubbed his temples and looked up at the time. "Well, I should let you go...you don't need another detention...I think this one had enough effect on you...good night Lydia."

Rain fell angry on Lydia as she ran across the grounds away from her Care for Magical Creatures class, other students ran in clumps, using their books to shield the rain from their heads. Lydia simply let it fall on her, almost enjoying the way it cooled her scalp and ran down the back of her robes and even soaked through onto her long-sleeved Metallica shirt. She noticed Malfoy nearing her, walking casually with an umbrella, she laughed that he was the only one really prepared for the rain and how odd that seemed to her.

"I noticed you weren't talking to me but..." he waited to finish until she stopped and looked at him, he stepped forward, silently offering for her to step under his umbrella...she noticed all the students were long gone and now his gesture made more sense to her...nobody was watching him be nice. "My father wrote saying he will be here by Friday this week, he isn't too happy about your little clash with my eye...but he is curious of your other activities." Lydia scoffed and looked at the students who were now black dots in front of the palace.

"Tell me something I don't know." She looked back at Draco, his face seemed different from usual, like he wanted to say something else.

"So I noticed you aren't hanging around Potter and his friends as of late...that was a short friendship if I could say the least."

"Oh would you?" Lydia conjected sarcastically. Draco took in a deep breath.

"I tried to warn you...maybe I didn't do it right, but they don't like people like us. Even if you aren't _exactly _like me...they still see you as they see me." He paused. "It's not fair I know." Lydia starred at him, shocked at what he was saying.

"What do you mean?" she started to shiver, she was in fact thouroughly soaked and still standing outside, wet feet couldn't be altered by an umbrella.

"I mean, you were nice to them...I understand why they hate me... but you didn't do anything to them...just because some stupid Vampire says something they go all haywire...bloody hell I thought they believed in _loyalty _and all that rubbish...I know I'm not much of a better friend to you but if it helps any...I don't think you're out to kill Harry either." Lydia couldn't contain her surprise or gratitude, or the welling of all her frustration coming out, she simply broke down and started to cry. Draco looked at her confussed...not exactly knowing how to respond to her.

"Um...I didn't mean that as an insult...honest." She shook her head and tried to wipe the tears away but they kept on coming, she felt like such a baby standing there in the rain crying.

"No, its just, its been so hard lately...nobody will talk to me...and you...the last person who I would expect...you're the first person to say anything truly nice to me since this all started...thanks." She looked at him and noticed his face had gone a little red, and his eyes were now seeming very interested in a bent blade of grass.

"Well, um, yeah, you're welcome...uh, here." He gave her his umbrella and started to walk away, clearly embarrassed and feeling awkward. "I better go...uh, you can give that back later, or keep it if you like, uh yeah, see you uh, later." He almost ran back to the school, not taking his usual care to avoid giant mud puttles and spare his shoes.

9

**The First Letter**

It was Friday, Draco for the most part had avoided Lydia for the rest of the week up until then. Now they sat on two little chairs outside of the entrance to Dumbledore's office waiting for Lucious Malfoy to arrive. Lydia had kept silent, entertaining herself with another book Snape had given her, but this time as a friendly gesture instead of punishment.

"**Ten Steps a Wizard or Witch can Take to Controlling Their Talents: a Self Help Book"**

Lydia found it extremely interesting, it went far beyond ten steps for it gave ten steps for almost every situation where someone could loose control of themselves or their power. She laughed as one seemed dog eared and read many times over, "How to control an annoying Student". Draco lent over, looking a little nervous as he peered over her shoulder at what she was reading.

"Are you nervous about him coming?" he asked softly. Lydia looked up from her book, their heads almost touched since she didn't realize how close he had leaned, quickly Draco jumped back as to avoid the awkward moment of their noses almost touching.

"Why should I be? What's the worst he can do, kick me out? Then I would just go back with Dumbledore." Draco didn't respond...instead he just looked down.

"Do you _want _to be kicked out?" he asked after a long while. Lydia looked back up from her book which she had continued to read. She looked at him, and was confused by his expression.

"Uh...well...no...but it wouldn't kill me." She suddenly felt very nervous, she didn't know how to respond to Draco acting this way, she didn't know how she felt when she was around him anymore.

"Well, _I _uh...don't want you to leave...its um...nice...to uh...have another...um...person around...you know...to talk to, besides your parents." He stopped as Lucious became visible down the hallway, he was frowning and his cape billowed out behind him. Draco and Lydia stood up out of natural reflex and waited for his approach. When Lydia finally saw his face he looked a little more worried than angry.

"Lydia...are you ok?" he asked when he was finally within comfortable talking distance.

"Um...yes...why?" he put his hands on her shoulders and looked her over.

"When I got word of your recent events I was worried that...well, they weren't suiting your needs as best they could here." He looked at Draco and very sternly asked. "How's your eye?" Draco, as if caught off guard put his hand up to it, as if forgetting anything ever happened to it, the bruise had been long gone, he then looked back up at his father and shrugged.

"No harm done really...you're not mad at her are you?" Lydia starred at him, feeling Draco surely must still be carrying _some _hard feelings, not for the hit but at least the embarrassment of it all.

"Not if you're not...well, shall we get this meeting with Dumbledore over with?" he sighed and walked up the stairs to his office which were exposed ready for Lucious to come. Lydia and Draco followed slowly, looking at each other for slight reassurement that they hadn't been blasted into a parallel universe where parents suddenly weren't angry anymore.

Dumbledore's office was filled with warm yellow sunlight, Lydia looked around fondly at all the pictures on the wall, this would be her second time there in a month. Draco looked like he had never seen it before as he looked around with his mouth gaping open. Lucious sighed and took a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk. The famed head-master came down into his office slowly, carrying a stack of old and tattered books, he smiled at his visitors and set them down on a vacant stool.

"I trust your trip here was comfortable." Dumbledore smiled as he layed eyes on Lucious. Lydia wondered if Dumbledore was ever rude to anyone. Lucious nodded and placed his hands sternly on the top of his cane.

"Can we get straight to business here?" he asked with a snarl.

"Of course." Dumbledore smiled back and looked at Lydia. "I told you everything that happened in my letter to you...I was hoping, that you could actually answer some questions for me." An eyebrow went up and Lucious let out a cold smile, Draco began to look nervous as he stepped closer to Lydia.

"Here it comes..." he whispered under his breath. Lydia, in response to Draco's nervousness, since he knew his father better than she did, began to hold her breath.

"What kind of information do you want?"

"Well, I was wondering if you knew who or what Lydia's mother was...that is certainly a mystery to almost all of us...but I was wondering...if you knew how to clear this up for us." Lucious let out a little snarl, knowing what Dumbledore was referring to.

"Do you mean to accuse me of being in ranks with He-who-must-not-be-named?" the grip on the top of his cane tightened and Dumbledore smiled, expecting difficulty obviously. Lydia felt a shiver go up her spine, maybe she thought, because Lucious was, obviously still a supporter of Voldemort.

"Certainly not, You just seem to have done more research than the rest of us on this subject, and I was hoping you could enlighten me."

"I know nothing of her mother." He snapped quickly. Dumbledore bowed his head and let out a little sigh, Lydia took it as a hint of frustration, indeed she felt it too, since the subject was brought up she had been waiting eagerly to find out who the woman was...and now Lucious wouldn't say a thing...and then an idea came into her head, if Lucious wouldn't tell her, maybe the young man standing next to her would. She smiled a bit and tucked that idea away for later. Lucious got up briskly and whirled his cape around to lift it off the chair. "Is that all you needed me for?" he asked haughtly. Dumbledore smiled,

"Well, I thought the girl might need a visit from her guardian as well, it has been a hard week for her." Lydia shuddered at the sound of Dumbledore addressing her as _the girl_, but she knew why he did it, he didn't want Lucious thinking there was still any attachment.

"Of course...well then, we will excuse ourselves." Lucious grabbed both their hands and walked out, with a snarl seemingly stuck on his face. "You need to learn to control your temper my dear, it does draw so much unwanted attention." He looked down at Lydia briefly as they walked back to the Slytherin common rooms, "Draco, what's the password?" he asked with great annoyance in his voice. Obviously he wasn't to happy to have been called over to Hogwarts to be asked a question that he wasn't planning to answer.

"pureblood." Draco answered coolly. He didn't look to happy either, Lydia suspected so, she didn't think Draco was the type of guy who liked being dragged around school by his angry father. She laughed a bit and then stopped when she felt his eyes starring into her. They entered and Lucious half threw the both of them onto one of the couches and then stood by the fireplace.

"So what exactly." He paused, Lydia figured it was for intimidation factors and she was most likely right, "is going on here?" he gave Draco a very angry and put out look.

"Well, I suspect Dumbledore's told you everything..." Draco answered with a look of impatience. His father raised his brows again, Lydia noticed he liked to do this, maybe it made him feel better about himself, she couldn't tell, but it was starting to get on her nerves.

"If you know Dumbledore as well as I, which you _should..._you would know that Dumbledore, _never _tells anyone everything." He glared at Draco and the poor boy gulped loudly.

"Well, if you want to ask me, I probably know more than _he _does, I mean I was _there..._it concerns _me._" Lydia frowned, feeling very unimportant and very ignored. Lucious looked over at her, with a hint of surprise on his face.

"Well, then...what's going on with you?" she breathed in, frustrated with how stupid people were sometimes.

"Simply enough everyone's freaking out because I'm able to do magic without wand or spells and I have a temper...now, contray to all your beliefes about the 'muggle' world, but this is pretty common...most kids like me...you know, the quiet ones who are into all that 'magic' stuff can do things without spells. I was just never able to do anything this big before...and kids like me that know their guardians aren't their real parents and rarely see their guardians at that...tend to have tempers. So I don't have a clue as to what all the fuss is about!" she knew she was red in the face, and Draco looked at her shocked. She _did not _just yell at his father like that and expect to live to tell the tale.

Lucious smiled and rubbed the top of his cane with great care. "Well now...he didn't explain that you didn't know about the whole 'mage scare'." Lydia sighed, mages, she knew about them, but not about any scare, and she figured that would have been good to know _before _ she came to Hogwarts.

"What mage scare?" she asked between clenched teeth.

"Well, its not widely talked about, but everyone knows...Wizards and Witches in the 13th century were enslaved by the mages for a time, used much like house elves are today. There of course was a revolt and we solved things quite nicely...except there was always the fear,(after we had killed off most of the mages) that the remaining ones would be bitter and soon rise again and enslave us. Granted this has died down over the years, and very few mages ever surface let alone let us know that they still exist. But, there are still the few that show their powers willfully...you my dear, are picking up those traits." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me I'm going to get another lesson about if I don't learn to control my temper I could end up like Sharia." Lucious' mouth opened wide, Draco stiffened up and went pale.

"Who told you about Sharia!?" Lucious shouted while suddenly arriving almost right in her face. Lydia jumped back with a little yelp and clenched the edges of the sofa cushion.

"I had to read about her for Snape's detention! He told me I should learn to control my temper because what happened to her is what happens to powerful people when they let their temper get the hold of him!" she shouted without taking a pause or a breath. Lucious nodded.

"I see...but he didn't tell you anything else did he?" Lydia looked up at Lucious quite curiously and shook her head.

"No, should he have?"

"No." he walked back to the fireplace, Draco let out a breath as if he hadn't been breathing the entire time. "Well, then, everything else is ok?" Lydia scrunched up her eyebrows, unable to understand the sudden change in his mood.

"Yes Father." Draco answered quickly. He was sitting up straight and resembled Hermoine in class for a second, with his eyes wide and sitting on the edge of the cushion.

"Very well then, make sure people don't fill her mind with any more rubbish about Sharia will you?" he asked calmly as he started to head back towards the exit of the Slytherin Common Room.

"Su-sure." Draco with eyes still as big as quarters nodded. Lydia rolled her eyes and huffed, gaining a warning look from Lucious. He left and Draco dropped his posture and let out another breath. "I cannot _believe _your guts sometimes!" he wiped his head and slumped all the way back on the couch cushion.

"What, why?" Lydia crossed her arms and lent back as well, their feet almost touched on the floor, and her noticing this pulled hers away.

"Well, you smart mouth every teacher...my father...who I must say you just don't do that too. Utterly defy half the school rules...one of which is to wear your uniform which you..." he looked her up and down, noticing the hole in the right knee of her jeans and how her Good Charlotte shirt had a grass stain on the sleeve. "obviously haven't even attempted to try on and we're well into first term." Lydia laughed and looked at Draco with a half smile.

"I never thought _you _would be the one to lecture me about following rules." He looked aghast for a moment then looked away, obviously caught in an act he didn't want to be performing in the first place...but he decided to continue since no one else was there to see it.

"I just, I just don't want to see you get into serious trouble...or hurt." Lydia didn't know how to respond, this was the second time Draco had expressed care for her well-being. She thought she could maybe consider it as a world record.

"Well thank you, but I think I know when to stop on my own." she noticed Draco's unbelieving look and huffed. "Fine then, don't believe me, but I assure you, the worst I get all year will be a detention." As she said this the fire place suddenly turned an odd sort of green, Lydia got up and walked towards it. Draco, suspecting it was someone tyring to sneak in with flu power didn't even raise up from the couch. "What the hell?" Lydia asked as a white envelope suddenly started to float above the fire. She reached towards it, testing first to see if she would get burned. "Draco...did you get a look at this?" she asked while holding her hand inside the fire with no pain. At first without looking he nodded, but then something caught the side of his eye, a person in front of Lydia in the fire.

"Whoa!" he lept up and pulled Lydia away, pointing at the rather feircly beautiful woman standing there with scraggly black hair and large angry eyes. She smiled like something was off in her mind and now held the envelope. Lydia tried to step closer, feeling drawn to it, but Draco pulled her back. "Don't touch her!" he clumbsily scrambled around his pockets for his wand then finally held it up to her face. "What do you want!?" he screamed into her face. She laughed coyly and waved her hand, Draco was blasted aside and landed on the couch, the force of him pushing it back a little. Lydia stood motionless, as if she were in a trance. "Lydia no!" he shouted as she reached forward and took the envelope from the woman, the second the envelope was in Lydia's grip the woman dissapered and the fire went back to normal, Lydia felt woozy and stood there starring at the envelope...

"How?" she asked while coming out of her trance. Draco stood up, rubbing his back and arms.

"She made you take it...now you might be bound to some sort of curse...good going." He sneered at the fire and came up behind Lydia. "So what does it say?"

"Oh now that I might be cursed you're all curious about it! I see how it is!" she shouted and pulled the letter close to herself while turning away from him, backing up and running behind the couch. "You're not getting a look at this, no way!" Draco rolled his eyes and held out his hand.

"Let me see!"

"No! You could get cursed to!" she shouted mockingly. Draco scrunched up his face into a pout then jumped over the couch and tackled Lydia to the ground, forcing the letter out of her hands. He stood up while Lydia rubbed her head, still on the floor. "Hey..." she growled as he opened it up.

"It's just a letter." He said with disappointment.

"Well, what does it say?" Before Lydia could finish Draco had already dropped it on the ground next to her hand.

"What should _I _care?"

"Well, after all _that _fuss, I think you would." She sat up and started to read, gasping when she was done.

"WHAT WHAT!?" Draco was back on the ground next to her, trying to pry it from her hands so he could see as well.

"Oh so _now _you care about what it says!" she held it even tighter this time, the paper started to crumble in their hands. "LET IT GO!" she shouted. Draco shook his head and tugged harder, then fell back and banged his head against the back of the couch as the letter ripped in half. "DRACO YOU ASS!" Lydia reached for the other half desperately, Draco laughing held it away from her, pushing her away by her forehead.

"Say please..." he teased.

"Oh for the love of God and all that's holy give me back that fucking letter!" Draco's eyes went wide and his smile even bigger.

"Something important eh? Let me read the rest and I promise on my Father's good name that I'll give it back."

"I don't believe you." Lydia growled with her arms crossed and her fist clenching the other half. He laughed and held out the other half teasingly.

"Let me see the other half..." he continued in a sing-song voice. With a huff that showed her great disproval, Lydia held out the other half of the letter to him. With a broad triumphant smile he took it and put it up to the other half.

**Lydia Riddle-**

**Voldemort is coming...if you serve him you WILL be next. **

**An "Old Friend"**

"Wow." Draco mouthed as his eyes read over it again and again.

"Can I have it back now?" Lydia squinted her eyes and held out her hand forceably.

"Nope..."

"You _PROMISED!_" Lydia was red and seething.

"Did I? I don't remember." In a flash Lydia had him in a headlock wrestling the letter out of his hands. Draco shouted muffled words under her arm and squirmed about, hitting her arms with his free hands.

"What? What's that I can't _hear you!"_ Lydia went on in a sing-song voice mocking Draco. Soon enough the letter was back in her hand and she let Draco go who was gasping for air.

"You really try me Riddle..." he huffed.

"Oh you know you love it." She winked, pat his cheek and ran off to her room before he could respond in the full fury that showed on his face.

When she got back to her room she closed her door and locked it, then progressed to tape the letter back together. She wondered what it meant...first she knew Voldemort should be coming back, what with everybody talking about him and all...second, she never in her right mind planned to serve him, but what really got her goat was the "you're next" followed by "old friend".

Potter especially found this interesting when they met up and she spilled the beans about the letter...but not her relation to Voldemort. They sat alone in the Quiddich field on a small blanket that Lydia had layed out expecting a long discussion when Harry had finally agreed to meet up with her.

"So, you don't know who the woman was?" he asked while looking at the letter curiously. "And Malfoy got a good look at it, well _that's _just great." He sighed and handed it back. "Old friend...hmm isn't that what Snape called that Vampire?"

"Come to think of it yeah..." Lydia thought back remembering Snape address him as so while opening the coffin. "You don't think he-"

"It's a start." Harry shrugged. "Now my question is...why does he think you would side up with Voldemort?"

"Haha, yeah good question." Lydia tried to hide her nervousness but Harry gave her a curious look.

"Are you not telling me something...that I really _should _know?" he seemed to almost glare at her and Lydia felt herself go red in the face.

"Uh...no." her voice got so sheepish that Harry started to get angry, his question confirmed.

"You can tell me..."

"No I really cant."

"Does _Draco _know?"

"What does _that _have to do with anything!?" Lydia backed up a bit, feeling defensive over what, she didn't know.

"Well, he seems to be getting all the important information lately...why don't you just ask _him _to help you...mighty Draco here to save the day with his father's help of course." Harry went on sarcastically in a mock super-man tone.

"Now that's uncalled for."

"So now you're defending him!?"

"No! Just saying that wasn't very nice...you don't like it when he calls your friends mudbloods...he wouldn't like it if you made fun of his situation with his father...its not all hugs and kisses if you must know." Harry fell silent shocked that she would think he actually cared if he hurt Draco Malfoy's feelings.

"Wow, that was strange." He finally mustered out. "Well anyway..." he began feeling he should be getting back on their original subject. "Hermoine does think Voldemort's got a contact here at Hogwarts...and he's planning on working through them since it wont be so easily detected."

"Yeah, I heard that before."

"She thinks this contact may be another student."

"There is no contact." Lydia said frankly, feeling rather brave.

"What?"

"There is no contact...there's a daughter." Harry's eyes went wide and he looked at her with shock.

"How do you-"he cut himself off, his mouth gaping open and going dry.

"I just found out about it all when I got here...I always knew my father's name was Tom Riddle...but I didn't know about the _Voldemort _stuff until Dumbledore told me after I was sorted. I'm not supporting him...but that's why, _whoever _wrote this letter thinks I would...and Voldemort's probably planning on me being cooperative." She stopped, seeing Harry's face go pale.

"Well that's a useful bit of information."

10

**Halloween at Hogsmead**

McGonogal checked the roll list once again, with her specitcals low on her nose. Everyone stood anxiously, bobbing on their heels ready to leave for Hogsmead for the Halloween weekend.

"No, I think we're missing someone." She after the third time of going over the list. Many groans resounded from the students as she walked to Professor Snape and had him look over. He checked it over, looking at all the houses, noticing Harry Potter was absent.

"I don't know what you mean Minerva, everyone who should be here is present and accounted for." McGonagal frowned and looked at the list again.

"If I may Professor?" Lydia, standing near Draco despite where she would rather be shot up her hand. McGonagal looked up and nodded.

"Yes Lydia."

"Harry's missing...that's who you're looking for." She received a slight elbow in the ribs from Draco as he gave her a warning look. "Well he _is_" she snided at him. Just then Harry came running breathless down the hall, robes undone and his sweater backwards and half tucked in his jeans.

"I'm here! I'm here!" he waved his arms about and joined in with Ron and Hermoine, Cho looked at him disapprovingly.

"Very well then." McGonagall rolled up the list and looked at Snape. "Are we ready." Snape, looking very disgruntaled all of the sudden rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Oh of course, now that _Potter's _graced us with his presense we are certainly free to leave." Harry gave him a look and glared, Draco laughed and got a poke from Lydia, along with a mocking warning look.

"What?" he mouthed as they walked out to the carriages to Hogsmead.

As soon as the carriages stopped Lydia rushed out and quickly grabbed Ron's arm and hid her face so Draco couldn't find her. She had to listen to him brag and insult Harry the entire ride. Of course he saw her and narrowed his eyes.

"What does she see in that Wealsley anyway?" he snorted to Crabbe as they walked to the Joke Shop. Lydia avoided eye contact with Draco most of the day, but as she relaxed she hadn't notice him come into The Hog's Head where she, Ron, Harry, Hermoine and Cho all sat laughing.

"Yeah, this summer Draco was trying peek in on me while I was chaging in my room...he kept flying back and forth by my window..." Harry snorted into his goblet.

"What'de you do?" Ron laughed and blushed a bit, smiling at Hermione.

"Well, at first I acted like I didn't see him, kinda turned my back and you know, started to tease..." Cho laughed softly and Harry just leant more in, expecting a good story. "And then as he got gutsy and came closer to the window I quickly turned after casting an illusion over myself to look just like his naked mother!" the table exploded in laughter, Draco looked over, curious as to what they were laughing about, wishing he was the one making Lydia laugh. "Oh wait wait, here's the best part...he smacks right into my window, I mean the thing shook! And then he fell to the ground and his father comes out screaming at him about flying on his own and he shouldn't do it unsupervised....he couldn't look his mother in the eye for the rest of the summer!" Draco by now, understood what story she was telling, at that precise moment, Lydia noticed he was there and listening, quickly she shut her mouth and became suddenly very interested in her butterbeer.

"Think that's a funny story huh?" Draco said as he came over to the table, his face was red and his nostrils flared. Everyone stopped, but then took one good look at him and started to laugh even harder. Draco, hurt and furious stormed out, Crabbe and Goyle fast on his heels, flashing Lydia death looks. She stayed quiet until they all left The Hogs Head and gathered there things ready to head back.

As she waved good bye to Harry and co. she head back to the Slytherin carriages keeping her eyes on her feet. Until two big objects stopped her in her tracks and knocked her on the ground, caushing her bags to fall and all their contents falling in the mud.

"You think you can talk about Draco like that?" Goyle growled as he stood over her, Lydia looked up, wondering why she didn't expect this before.

"It was just a story." She said softly.

"One that didn't need to be told!" Crabbe shouted, they pulled her up the collar of her shirt and held above the ground so that her feet dangled, shocked she didn't dare move or speak as they laughed and planned just how to "mess her up". Just as Goyle's fist raised ominously above her face, Draco's hand caught his arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked with his face construed into an angry sneer.

"Payback." Crabbe said with a smile, as if there was no reason for Draco to be mad at _them. _

"Uh huh." Goyle, sensing Draco was not up for hitting Lydia let her drop to the ground, mud splattered all over her and Draco. He sighed heavily and picked her up also by her collar and helped her a stand a bit, though he lacked a certain gentleness. "I may be right fuming with the bitch but that gives you _no _right to gang up on her and beat her up like a couple of filthy muggles...the shame." Angrilly he dragged Lydia away cursing under his breath. "And don't you go thinking I'm not angry with you...and you better appreciate this, I just told off my two best friends so you wouldn't get that pretty little face pounded in." Lydia remained silent and let Draco drag her, not daring to mention they had left her bags behind in the mud.

They were brought to a small hotel on the outskirts of Hogsmead, all the houses were spilt up into four areas, the trip was only for the sixth years so they didn't take up the _entire _hotel. Lydia felt nauseous as she realized she had to share a room with six other Slytherin girls though, she figured at this time, she would much rather spend the most of the night with an angry Draco...instead of Draco fans who had heard of her little joke by the time they got there, and didn't seem to keen on being nice to Lydia. So, sighing heavily and knowing that Harry and company would be immersed in their own group for the night she head off to Draco's room, scared to death and regretful.

She knocked lightly on his door, heard a bunch of shuffling about and then it finally creaked open, Crabbe looked out and starred at her.

"Draco...its _her." _He said without taking his eyes off of her. Lydia gulped, knowing they must have been just talking about her. Crabbe moved aside and Draco appeared at the door, he had already changed into jeans and a simple white t-shirt and looked as if he had showered.

"What do you want?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"Still sore about today huh?" Lydia asked with a hopeful smile. "You know, I was hoping you would be over that...I didn't think Harry's opinion mattered that much to you." He looked back in the room and then stepped out into the hallway with Lydia, and shut the door behind him.

"That's just it Lydia...Harry's opinion, well by now is shit to me...but I thought we were friends...at least. And now you go humiliating me...did you ever think that's why I'm angry?" she looked down at his feet, feeling horrible.

"You're right, that was pretty low of me...and what you did today...with Crabbe and Goyle...I do really appreciate it...I really thought I was going to get pulverized." She looked back up at him. "If you want, I can tell Harry and them I was exaggerating...that you didn't smack into the window or something..." she smiled a bit, still recalling the memory, Draco starred at her.

"You want to stay here tonight don't you?" he laughed a bit. "That's it, you don't want to get stuck with those girls who are certainly going to give you a harder time than we would."

"Half of that yeah...but I am sorry...and I do want to be friends again." She held out her hand, praying to God that he would take it. He starred at her again for a moment then took it and smiled.

"Fine then...friends until proven otherwise." He opened up the door and looked around. "Men, we have a lady over tonight...straighten up!" they scurried about hiding obvious liquor bottles and playing cards...along with what looked to Lydia like muggle brand cigarettes and racy magazines.

"Just what are you all doing in here?" she asked with a smile.

"Nothing...just getting ready for bed."

"Uh-huh" she looked at Draco and pulled one of the _Naughty Witch _magazines from under the bed. "This sure looks like getting ready for bed..." all the boys exchanged nervous looks. She then walked over to one of the drawers pulled out the deck of cards and held them up, "Anyone here know how to play poker?"

Lydia woke up around seven thirty, lodged in between Draco and Goyle with a royal flush hanging from her hand. Empty bottles decorated the floor along with torn up magazines and feathers from their pillows. She had the worst head ache she could imagine and was very thank full all her clothes were still on. Although she couldn't say the same for everyone else...she gathered by the looks of things she was very good at strip poker...as was Draco who only lacked his shirt and pants, but was sporting a nice pair of green boxer briefs.

She dislodged herself and stretched, then leant over and patted Draco on the face.

"Hey...sleepy-head...you don't want to waist your last day at Hogsmead sleeping do you?" His eyes opened slowly and he smiled up at her.

"When did I fall asleep?" he asked while holding his head, Lydia figured he must have about the same headache as herself.

"Not sure...I don't know when I fell asleep." He laughed a bit and then suddenly stopped with a groan.

"I feel awfull..."

"Well by the looks of things, we have reason too...look at this place." He looked around and laughed again.

"Did we drink all that?"

"Yep." Lydia helped him up to his feet and looked around. "We should clean this up before a teacher comes in checking on us." Draco smiled at her, and laughed a bit again.

"It wasn't our plan to have you stay the night..." he rubbed his hair back, it was falling in his face and rather messy. "but I must say I cant complain waking up to you." Lydia blushed and started to gather her things, heading for the door.

"I better head back before the girls wake up and have reason to rat me out for staying with you guys..." before she opened the door she gave a little wink and the room started to clean itself. "I'll see you at breakfast."

11

**A Feast to Remember**

The main hall was alive with the chatter of exsighted students, ready to go home for Winter Break. Lydia was not looking forward to it, since their trip to Hogsmead Draco had changed a bit, once again to being nice in private and rather rude in public, especially since Lydia still remained friends with Harry. And it didn't help that even though they had a perfect time that night in the hotel, Crabbe and Goyle now wanted to pound her face in for Draco liking her more than them. Lydia smiled at Harry and Ron as she passed the Gryffindor table and sat at the end of the Slytherin table. Draco, noticing her avoiding him gathered up his plate and napkin full of extra sweets and sat next to her, with a look of hurt/jealousy on his face. Lydia ignored him, until he cleared his throat after a few moments of sitting there staring at her waiting for her to look at him.

"What do you want? I'm trying to eat before I pack."

"Pack?"

"Yeah, we're going back to your house, am I correct?"

"Oh yes, I didn't tell you...I forgot you know, with school and Quidditch..."

"Tell me what?" Draco laughed as Crabbe and Goyle joined them, his face changed immediately and Lydia sighed knowing his mood would as well.

"Simply that we're not going back you stupid girl...father wrote ages ago thinking it was wisest with all these things going on that we stay."

"What things...besides the obvious which have cooled down since his last visit."

"You haven't heard of that either?! Don't you read the Daily Prophet!?" Goyle began to laugh but Draco turned and gave him a very sour face. "What are _you _laughing at, you don't even read your own name on your underwear!" Lydia let out a little giggle but soon returned to her annoyed state.

"What's in the Daily Prophet?" she asked, trying very hard to keep her voice calm. She suddenly rememberd the article she had seen Narcissa with, about the disappearing Wizards...

"Oh, only that the ministry is panicked, they say Voldemort is on the loose trying to catch his wife...this means we have to stay here."

"Catch his wife? You mean my mother?" Lydia said under her breath. Draco nodded coolly.

"So, of course Father isn't going to risk us traveling and having her about...she was even crazier than Voldemort."

"Aren't you not supposed to be telling me this?" Lydia quickly regretting asking that as Draco nodded, suddenly remembering what his father had said.

"You're right! Hahahahahaha, almost tricked me into telling you didn't you?" he laughed and stood up, Crabbe and Goyle following, even though they didn't know what they were laughing about.

"Yeah sure...because I knew what was in the Daily Prophet anyway...go and finish your cupcakes Malfoy." He frowned, she had never addressed him as Malfoy before, and his face showed the surprise.

"Fine then..." he waited a second until Crabbe and Goyle were turned around. "Later tonight...I can tell you more."

"I don't think so Draco." He stopped and walked fully back to her, the hall started to gain interest in their conversation.

"What do you mean?" He whispered, feeling eyes on him. "Why not?" Lydia smiled, if he was mean to her now...for sure she would not speak to him for the rest of the year.

"Because..." she began, while standing and raising her voice a bit, "You are two faced to me and I'm sick of it Draco Malfoy!" he started to turn a scarlet red, everyone around them was looking up now and starring with their mouths hanging open.

"Can you keep it down?" he whispered angrily.

"No I can't!" she crossed her arms, huffed and added, "And I wont!" she came closer to him so that they were practically face to face, she stuck her finger so close to his nose that if she had gone a millimeter farther it would have been up his left nostril. "YOU'RE A PERFECTLY DECENT PERSON IN PRIVATE, ALL CARING AND CONCERNED AND MUSHY CRAP, BUT THE SECOND SOMEONE COMES IN YOU TURN INTO A COMPLETE ASS! I CANT JUST SIT HERE AND TAKE IT ANYMORE, MAKE UP YOUR GOD DAMN MIND!" Draco was fuming, thoroughly embarrassed, yet caught in the wrong. He nodded his head, half defeated, whipped around on his heel and left. Lydia for a moment felt like that was pointless if not more destructive to their relationship than anything, and then as all the eyes moved to her, she felt utterly humiliated. She too walked out without a word, feeling Harry's gaze on her the heaviest.

But before she could exit, Madam Trewalny came running in, her robes flying behind her.

"Dumbledore!" she shouted, with her arms in the air and her jewels clanking around making her sound like a horse on a sled. Dumbledore stood up slowly, Lydia paused wondering what in the world was going on.

"What is it Madam?" he asked as she stopped to catch her breath. Everyone was looking at her...it seemed to be one thing after another that night.

"Sir...de'Snow is loose...and he just grabbed a 6th year-"

"Who!?" Lydia asked in panic, grabbing her robes from behind. Trewanly screamed and almost fainted.

"Child don't _do _that!" she held her hand over her heart and looked at Lydia, then back up at Dumbledore. "He's got Draco Malfoy." Some gasped, some people cheered, Lydia felt panicked. "And he says he has another student...he smiled rather oddly and said 'Pitty you all didn't notice her abscnece...feel bad for her really...she must feel loved.' And ran off". Trewalny wiped her forehead. "What do we do?" she asked, Lydia felt her feet making her back up to the doors, Dumbledore stood and rose his arms...this sort of thing seemed to happen all the time with the way he was handleing it.

"Now now...everyone return to your common rooms, we will address you with news tomorrow." Lydia waited a bit for Harry and Ron to pass her, they stopped and brought her off to the side.

"So what do we do?" Harry asked lowly as other students passed them in a silent panic.

"Glad we're on the same track here...ha, I thought you would be happy Draco's been taken by a vampire." Harry looked at his feet, Ron laughed.

"Well bloody hell _I _am and that's no secret...but Harry here...well since you're our friend...and uh...well you obviously have _something _going with Dra-"

"No I don't."

"Right, well we thought we should help you find him." There was an awkward silence and Lydia blushed a bit.

"Thanks guys. I think we should check Snape's top office...that's where de'Snow's coffin is anyway..." they ran quietly to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, it was dark and quiet and all the curtains were drawn. Ron clutched Lydia's arm tightly,

"You think he's in here?" he asked through chattering teeth.

"No stupid...it can't be that easy." Lydia shook her arm free and stepped up next to Harry. "Maybe he has a secret passage way or something...to where he's hiding them?"

"Like the chaimber of secrets?" Ron asked, regaining some of his composure.

"I sure hope not." Harry added. They started to feel around the stones on the walls, pulling books from the bookcases, and then Ron tripped over a floor board.

"Hey guys...this is loose!" they ran over to him and Harry pulled it open, revealing a stare case.

"Well, what do you know...we've been sitting over a trap door for 6 years!" Harry laughed and peered down the steps, "looks dark"

"Perfect place for de'Snow don't you think?" Lydia asked as she began to go down...she looked back at Harry and Ron who stayed frozen on the top of the stairs. "Well, are you coming?" they both nodded quickly and followed her down, the stairs were steep and dark...something smelled of dead rat.

Finally they came to a dimly lit room that must have been well under the Hogwarts foundations for the castle. Harry stepped in front of Lydia, who was busy looking at the ceiling, it was covered in dead rats hanging by their tails. "Do-do you see that?" she asked while pointing up.

"Do I want to?" Ron asked while moving to clutch her arm again, Lydia stepped forward ahead of Harry avoiding Ron's grasp. And then they all froze, Draco sat in the middle of the next room that they entered, limp on a chair, obviously passed out. Lydia gasped and didn't know wether to run to help him or run away.

"What the-"Harry began before he heard a scream, they all jumped and looked over at the source. A little first year girl was standing in a cage, terrified.

"HELP ME!" Harry moved towards her slowly, a little afraid...her eyes were glowing strangly in the candle light.

"Who are you?" he asked once he was close enough to the cage to fully see her face.

"Tina Harris...You're Harry Potter aren't you?" she clutched the bars so hard her hands went white.

"Yeah, yeah I am."

"Help me out...he's going to finish us off!" she started to rattle the cage, Harry quickly grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes.

"Do you want him to come before I can get you out?" Harry asked sternly. The girl shook her head no and Lydia felt she had the feeling back in her legs enough to go and check to make sure Draco was still alive. She knelt down by the chair and lifted his head up, he was very pale, more so than usual, she checked his pulse.

"He's still alive." She whispered to herself, feeling very much relieved, even though she didn't know why. Draco groaned a bit and opened his eyes, Lydia noticed red running down his neck, collar and shirt, even soaking into his Slytherin vest.

"Lydia, what are you doing here?" he asked sleepily. Lydia smiled and brushed the hair away from his face.

"Come on, we don't have time for explanations." She helped him up out of the chair and propped his arm over her shoulder. "Do you have Tina out?" she asked while looking over to Harry.

"Almost..." Harry gritted his teeth as he worked on the lock. Finally the cage door swung open. "Ok, lets go!"

"Hahahaha not so fast children." Lord de'Snow looking much better than the last time they all saw him crept out of the shadows, fresh blood still dripping from the corners of his mouth. Lydia held onto Draco's waist tightly.

"Oh shit," she muttered under her breath...with out curtains to let light in, or the sun up for that matter if their were curtains...she was sure she wouldn't be able to beat him again. Harry bit his bottom lip and forced Tina behind Ron.

"Dumbledore will find you soon, especially if we found you so quickly...even if you kill us you wont get away with it for long." Harry was shaking and Lydia felt compelled to do _something_ she just didn't know what. Lord de'Snow was walking up to them, smiling.

"I don't have much concern for Dumbledore really...I'm under a higher power really." He laughed and walked up to Lydia. "I knew nabbing him would really get your goat." Lydia and Draco exchanged looks then looked back at de'Snow.

"Really? Aren't you the bright one...it just goes to show that we hate each other...I just don't want his Dad to rip me a knew Ass- hole when he finds out I let his son get kidnapped by some half-ass Vampire." De'Snow growled and grabbed her chin forcibly, Harry had his wand out for the ready.

"I can see through your foolishness..." he laughed and let go, Draco on the other hand still looked very hurt from when her comment was first made. "I wont be here for Dumbledore to find me anyway...my work here is done...this my friends, was just a warning from my mistress."

"Your mistress?" Harry asked, slightly lowering his wand.

"Yep, she just wanted me to relay a message to the child of Voldemort."

"Who is she?!" Lydia asked desperately, almost dropping Draco, she caught him just in time though and apologized under her breath.

"Oh, you'll find out." He smiled and with a turn of his coat he was gone into the shadows.

"Well that was interesting." Snape's voice came from the top of the stairs. They all turned quickly and Lydia felt anger against him rising up inside of her.

"You knew about him! Why didn't you do anything!" she shouted, Draco flinched a bit since she did happen to scream right in his ear.

"Well, to be honest, I believed him when he said he was living off rats...he had a pretty good allibie..." lets his eyes wander to the ceiling. "We should take Mr. Malfoy to the medical ward...as long as...as..." he looked at Tina with a scrunched brow.

"Tina Harris of Hufflepuff."

"Yes, along with Tina, the rest of you should get to bed and forget this matter. Dumbledore and I will deal with it personally." They walked slowly back up the stairs as Snape lagged behind, they met Dumbledore halfway down.

"Just missed him didn't we?" Dumbledore asked with a disappointed look.

"Yeah," they all sighed in unison. Dumbledore nodded and continued down the stairs. Lydia just continued to help Draco...Madam Pomphrey didn't look to thrilled when they all entered, looking like they had just been hit by a bus.

"Well, lay the injured down and the rest of you can just go on to bed." She said in a hurried voice. She quickly rushed around gathering medicines, Harry and Ron left, yawning and dragging their feet...Lydia stayed behind with Draco...past Madam Pomphrey's orders. She didn't really notice at first and by the time she did, it seemed to Lydia that she didn't care anymore.

Lydia pulled up a chair and sat by Draco all night, wondering if he would be ok...and still mad at her in the morning for her little explotion at the feast.

12

**The Painting**

It took three days for Madam Pompfrey to get Draco back to normal. He had lost so much blood that she admitted after he was in stable condition that he was just a drip from death when Lydia brought him in.

"Stupid Vampires," she had muttered while wiping her hands. "They never realize their warnings could be fatal...sometimes I think they do it on purpose, hoping they'll die so they can just shrug and say it was an accident." She sighed and walked over to Tina, who was sitting up in her bed, working on some soup. Lydia just stayed still next to Draco, yeah he was in stable, "normal" condition, but he still hadn't woken up. She felt horrible for yelling at him like that, even though he most likely deserved it...just not in that fashion. Finally when she got up, deciding to leave for the day, Draco stirred. She paused, forgetting to breath as she watched him closer. His hand moved and then his head, his eyelids fluttered and then with a groan he opened them and looked around. Lydia couldn't move, she stood there frozen not knowing what to do with herself.

"You're here." He said as he looked up at her in shock. "After your little talk I thought you hated me." He breathed deeply as if he had just come back from a long run. Lydia found the muster to step forward, she brushed his hand but decided last minute not to hold it...feeling that might just tell him she was feeling things she would swear up and down that she wasn't.

"Yeah, well, I was concerned...I may have been angry with you. But, I would never want you killed." She looked away from his face, he seemed a little happy at this news and showed it with a broad smile.

"So are you mad at me anymore?" he asked starting to sit up, color was flushing back to his face. Lydia feeling a little confused stepped back a bit, almost hitting the table beside his bed.

"I don't know...it depends on you really." She crossed her arms, trying to regain some of the anger she felt before.

"I see then." Draco started to frown as well, without noticing he crossed his arms in the same fashion and looked over at Tina, who was starring at them. "So what do you want me to do exactly...be your boyfriend or something?" he asked with a sneer.

"NO WAY!" Lydia jumped, caught off guard by his question, all though she regretted her action when she caught the look on Draco's face. It was nearing disappointment and then she just felt even more confussed. "I should go."

"No, wait...How long have you been here...how long have I been asleep." He reached out for her, seeming desperate for her not to leave him.

"Three days...I was afraid you would miss all of Christmas Break." She stepped forward again and guided his hand back down from the reaching position. "I-I haven't been here that long." She lied, everyday she had spent all day sitting there, waiting, only leaving to go sleep in her room at night since Madam Pomphrey wouldn't let her stay anymore.

"Will she let me go?" he asked with his eyes on Pomphrey, he looked back at Lydia hopefully. "I really cant stand being in this bed any longer...I feel like I'm in need for a long overdue stretch..." he groaned a bit and extended his legs. "I really wouldn't mind a good fly-"

"Certainly not!" Pomphrey came running over, her eyes wide. "No flying for a least another three days! You're not fully better yet, still weak! You could fall off!" Draco sighed and layed back on his pillows.

"And I was really looking forward to getting on that broom too." He pouted and Madam Pomphrey brought the table in front of him and then rushed back to get some warm soup. Lydia smiled a bit and then bobbed on her heels.

"Well I should get going then, you probably want to rest." She turned to leave but Draco grabbed the belt loops of her pants and pulled her back.

"Please...I've been resting for three days...don't leave me here alone..." Lydia sighed and sat on the edge of his bed.

"And what do you want me to do? Entertain you all day?" she half hid behind the little table and let her hand go up behind it. "Hello Mr. Malfoy," she began in a fake boy's voice. "I'm Mr. Hand...shall we sing our ABCs?"

"Knock it off." Draco swiped her hand away and leant forward. "I want you to get me out of here."

"Pomphrey will be furious." Draco grabbed the collar of her shirt and brought her in closer.

"I don't really care as of now...get me out of here...my ass hurts from laying in bed for three days, I probably smell and then we need to figure out a way to get that stupid git of a Vampire back for making ME waist three days of Christmas Vacation!"

"You do smell funny." Lydia laughed as she scrunched up her nose.

"Thanks, that helps my situation a lot." Draco let go of her and crossed his arms. "I take it you're not going to help me."

"Madam Pomphrey's right...you shouldn't be up and running around. You look better but not fully back to normal." She straightened her shirt and smiled when Pomphrey came back with the soup.

"Drink this down and you'll be able to leave by this evening." She said sternly before heading off to Tina's bed.

"See, you'll be out today anyway...so just deal with it and drink your soup...drink?" she shook her head and handed the bowl to Draco. "And I'll leave if you don't finish it right away."

"What are you my Mother?"

"Fine, I'm leaving-"Draco grabbed her jeans again, this time pulling her so hard she fell back over his legs.

"No, stay."

"Well I don't have much choice in the matter do I?" she glared at him and sat up, not without pushing hard on him to help herself, Draco's eyes went a little wide from the pressure, but didn't say a word.

"I'll finish the soup ok?"

"Good, or else I would have forced it down your throat."

"Oh thank you..." he said in fake appreciation. Lydia laughed and waited, watching him drink the soup down. "There I'm done...how long till I can go?" he asked, his face contorted in some form of whining question.

"This evening...ok?" Lydia stood up now, feeling awkward. She kept feeling like Draco was expecting her to be something she wasn't...like Crabbe and Goyle maybe...friends with out friendship from him. "I do need to go."

"But I drank the soup." He said rather matter-of-factly.

"I just need to go, I'm sorry." She walked away, Draco didn't pull her back this time, he just sat in his bed, looking confussed.

"What did I do this time?" she heard him ask as she closed the hospital ward door behind her. She walked briskly down the hall, heading towards the Slytherin tower...not knowing what she planned to do. She knew Draco would be back that night, asking questions. She stopped on one of the staircases on the way, one painting in particular struck her as odd. It was a painting she had never seen before, and it didn't move. Lydia walked closer to it, craning her neck to look up at it.

"Strange one that is." The painting directly in front of her commented, he looked up holding his bi-focal on his eye. "She's from the muggle museums...don't know why Dumbledore wanted it here..."

"I know her!" Lydia almost fell back off the stair case, "She was in the fire!" her heart beating fast she grabbed the railing and pulled herself back upright.

"You know her did you say? Haha, silly girl, that's near impossible...she's been in Azkaban, and then dissapered, way before _your _time."

"Azkaban?" Lydia looked at the painting again, her mouth wide open. "What's her name?" the man in the painting laughed, then shuddered and looked away from her.

"Sharia, she used to teach here way back-"

"Sharia! No! That can't be!" she ran off the staircases and to Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. "Snape! Professor Snape!" she shouted and ran to his office door, pounding on it until her hands were bruised.

"Professor Snape is not here." Dumbledore stood behind her, with a concerned look on his face. "He is with the Ministery of Magic trying to catch and interrogate our old friend de'Snow...is there something _I _can help you with?" Lydia paused and turned slowly, rubbing her throbbing hand.

"I think...I don't know...its just Sna- Professor Snape...he knows the whole story."

"I see." Dumbledore nodded and adjusted his glasses. "Well I have time to hear the whole story...and then, maybe, I can help you...the problem seems urgent since you were so willing to sacrifice your hand to solve it." His eyes drifted over her hand, which she started to hide behind her back.

"I think I can wait." Dumbledore looked slightly hurt as Lydia starred back up at him, her face frustrated.

"Very well then...I just hope you haven't forgotten that I'll always be here for you...even though no longer your legal guardian...I still think of myself as your father." Lydia nodded slowly, not sure how to respond. She thought of the night she came back from her date with Dean for the first time since it happened at that moment, and how Dumbledore supported her.

"Maybe, later...I might be overacting." She walked out briskly, avoiding eye contact with Dumbledore, feeling horrible for having to treat him this way.

13

**Quidditch**

A month had passed and the snow seemed to take on a more worn-in look, the house elves worked hard to keep it looking white and clean, especially with Quidditch going on its end stretch of the season. The snow would be upturned and muddy, which of course everyone thought was the Quidditch teams practicing and landing hard on the fields, or the balls hitting the ground, but they couldn't explain the extra traffic in all the open fields.

Lydia could, but she wasn't about to. She worked very hard to keep her extra activities a secret, she missed her favorite sport, football. She would wake up early in the morning before the sun would rise and bulk herself up in warm clothes and go out and kick the ball around with some centaurs that she found in the forbidden forrest. Their speed and strength kept her agile and quick and she could feel her self getting better as the days progressed. They used any field available, the Quidditch field, the training field that Madam Hooch used for training the first years on their brooms, the open space in front of the womping willow, although Lydia was growing weary of that area, if the ball was kicked under the willow she couldn't think of anyway to get it back.

After her morning romps right before everyone was supposed to wake up she would quietly go up to the showers and clean up, crawl into her bed and get a 15 minute nap before she had to get up for breakfast and classes.

One morning when she had worn herself out a little more than usual and sat like a lifeless lump at breakfast, she noticed Draco and the Slytherin team come in in their Quiddicth robes, sporting cocky smiles and getting worshiped by the Slythering girls. Lydia, a little disguted yet too tired to care looked down at her oatmeal which was now soggy and cold. Her stomach did a flip inside of her then let out a loud long growl. She saw the Gryffindor team enter next, their faces were long and their heads hung low. This Lydia was interested in, she got up pushing her unattractive oatmeal away from herself and walked up to Harry. She could feel Draco's eyes on her like she did everytime she talked to Harry instead of him.

"What's going on?" she asked with a tired yawn, Ron who looked beat starred at her and opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it.

"We just lost." She noticed the dirt all over Harry's face as he spoke for Ron.

"This is our first time loosing to those prats...no offence." Ron said with a huff, he looked at Lydia. "Where were you anyway? Almost the whole school was there...."

"Oh...I...uh." She didn't want to say she had been sleeping after her _own _game from earlier that morning. Harry just shook it off and shot an angry glance over at Draco.

"I bet he's just going to gloat about this for the rest of his life," he rolled his eyes and looked back at Lydia. She starred at her feet, everytime Harry was mad at Draco, or anyone was for that matter she would suddenly become very aware of the little silver bracelet that Draco had given her that summer, it would seem to burn on her wrist and she would always have to rub her wrist against something like her leg to ease her attention off of it. She sometimes wondered why she wasn't able to take it off, sometimes when she was really angry with him she would debate giving it to Moaning Myrtle, but she could never muster up the guts to undo the clasp. She felt like that was the only thing that kept her able to deal with him, remembering that moment, and others where he seemed like a totally different person.

"Why don't you rematch then?" she asked, rubbing her wrist against her jeans. Ron's eyes went wide.

"Yeah rematch!" Ron shouted loud enough for the Slytherin's to turn and growl. Draco walked up to the group, right next to Lydia and looked as if he were going to push her behind him.

"What do you mean _Weasle!_?" Draco spat out his words while the team gathered up behind him, pushing Lydia towards the middle of the confrontation, stuck between him and Harry.

"We want a rematch!" Hermoine came up front, her eyes narrowed. "You didn't let the Gryffindor team practice at all! That's just shying cheating!" Draco scoffed,

"Fine a rematch! We'll slaughter your team again!" the rest of the team laughed and started to file away. "In a week, rematch." Harry nodded with a sneer and watched the Slytherin's start to dissipate away. Lydia looked at them, a solution buzzing about in her head. But she didn't voice it, instead she just looked at her feet as Harry, Ron and Hermoine all walked away.

She head back to the Slytherin tower and saw Draco, still in his uniform sitting on the couch with a sufficient gloat still on his face.

"I cant believe you didn't show up to the game." He smiled at her and took off his gloves. "You should have seen me, my best game ever." Lydia sighed and sat on the couch, Dean often talked that way after Rugby.

"I'm sure you were great." She looked at the fire, feeling its warmth. It had been a while since Draco had gotten out of the infirmary, and he had changed, what she felt for the worse.

"I was looking forward to seeing you there...my father was there."

"Oh then I'll be sure to rush to come next time." Lydia crossed her arms and kept her eyes still on the fire.

"What do you want from me?" Draco sat up, his face puzzled. "You asked me to pick a mood and keep it with you...I've been sacrificing my good name being nice to you in public-"

"Why is that a sacrifice!? And that's not the problem!" she starred him down, she was tired, wanting to sleep.

"Because you associate with Potter and," he did a slight shiver, "Weasley and that- that _mudblood._ It puts my good name on the line to show others that I support you talking to them." He paused, his expression softening. "Then, what is the problem?" Lydia had begun to look away again, her eyes starting to water.

"It's something I can't tell you." She quickly rose and ran up to her room, closing the door quickly behind her. She let herself fall down by the door in tears. The problem, oh the problem. It wouldn't leave her alone. Finally she had realized, she felt the same about Dean as she did Draco...and that in many respects, Dean was Draco. Especially with him being nice in front of people, it was the kind of thing Dean did, pressuring dates or what have you. She suddenly felt very afraid, what if she turned Draco to stone?

The Quidditch field was white with a fresh layer of snow, Lydia walked up to the stands and shivered when she saw Lucious had saved a seat for her.

"Draco promised you would make it."

"Well he made me promise I would come." She sat down next to him and huddled herself in her scarf and cloak, she missed nice down jackets, at least she could keep her jeans and Old Navy sweaters.

"Just as well. He'll be glad to see that you could make it." Lucious paused and smiled. "You know, he's taken quite an interest in you if you didn't know already." Lydia suddenly felt sick. "He wonders if you feel the same."

"Look there he is!" she got up and added extra enthusiasm as he flew out onto the field. Lucious smiled and clapped very lightly.

"Yes, so he is." She sat back down and kept her eyes on the field, out came the Gryffindor team, as they flew out a new kind of electricity took to the air. The whistle sounded and the Snitch was released, Lydia watched Harry and Draco more than the rest of the game. As far as she could tell, Gryffindor was already behind. Ron had almost fallen off twice and it had only been ten minutes in. But he kept his chin up and saved the next attempt, beaming as he threw it back out towards another team mate.

Everyone was screaming, Harry and Draco had dissapared above the gray clouds that threatened more snow. Lydia craned her neck, she looked at Lucious who seemed rather embarrassed. Sadly she turned her eyes back to the sky, starting to realize there was an element to Draco's rudeness that was perhaps not his fault, at least not entirely.

Sudenly they both came diving down at a dangerous angle, Harry and Draco neck and neck, both reaching out for, yes! There it was, flapping its golden wings. Lydia's heart raced as they were nearing the ground faster and faster, the whole game seemed to stop as everyone paused to watch. And then, just before they both dove off and rolled to the ground at the same time they had both grabbed the snitch. They rolled together for a while, wrestling about in the snow, punching and kicking and trying to pull it out of the other's hands. Madam Hooch came running out blowing her whistle. Both teams would be awarded the 150 points. Draco looked up at the scoreboard hopefully, but it was no use, Slytherin was ten points behind Gryffindor, they won by ten points. Lucious sighed as if he was disgusted and stood up to leave. Lydia saw Draco look up, looking for reassurance from his father and then the disappointment as Harry was carried off by his teammates, being congradulated and his just scoffed at him and his father had gone.

Lydia rushed down, pushing past grumbling Slytherin's as she made her way down. Draco was just about to go back into the Slytherin dressing rooms as she caught him. She was a little winded and the cold air felt like knives to her lungs.

"Draco-"she gasped, he turned with a sour look on his face. "Draco, you- I- I understand now...somethings, you may not realize yourself...but-"she relaxed and tried to smile. "You caught that snitch too, just remember that ok?" Draco seemed to break down, his whole gait everything, right there tears started to come out of his eyes and he started to try and wipe them away, until Lydia quickly reached out and hugged him, and then he couldn't hold it at all. She led him away from people's view and let him cry there for a little while. Finally he looked up, biting away his tears and seeming a little angry at himself. But his expression changed when he looked at Lydia.

"No one's ever, thought it was ok if I lost before." Lydia nodded and looked at her feet. Draco kept his eyes on her, she started to feel a little nervous as she could hear his breathing better, he was coming closer. Her heart started to race, he was going to kiss her. She jumped up and made her distance, blushing horribly and trying not to read the hurt and confusion on his face.

"I-I have to go." She ran off, treading the snow, unafraid of falling. She didn't stop until she got to the forbidden forest. Its dark canopies hiding her fears and embracing her in the cold. She wondered what was going on, Draco just cried, and then tried to kiss her. It seemed so unreal. And then she saw the look on his face suddenly, the look he had when she jumped away and her heart felt heavy. She sat on a fallen log and cursed herself for blowing it...and then she wondered why she felt she had blown anything.

14

**An Unlikely Meeting **

The snow was beginging to clear and the school's atmosphere more tense as finals approached. Lydia felt calm though, as she always did finals week, as if she knew everything she needed to know and didn't bother to bog herself down by studying like everyone else. Besides, she had more on her mind.

De'Snow still had not been found yet, she felt like the note had something to do with it. And being that he said he was serving a higher power. She was walking out towards the wamping willow, feeling unconcerned about its dangerous swinging branches. She sat down a little ways away from it and started to pull at the fresh grass in a clear spot. She could see Harry walking towards her, alone for once and carrying some books. He came up and sat next to her, didn't open his books but set them aside and looked at her.

"Are you ready for finals?" he asked casually. Lydia raised her eyebrows.

"I'm not worried about them if that's what you mean." Harry nodded and looked at his feet, twisted them in the fresh grass.

"We haven't talked, alone, in a while." Lydia gulped, she hadn't really talked to anyone alone in a while. "Ever since that Quidditch match...Ron and Hermoine think its because you and Draco hit if off-"

"No we didn't." Lydia quickly said with her breath short. Harry looked at her and smiled.

"I wasn't saying...but if that's true..." his expression changed and Lydia found it the perfect time to distract him with something more important.

"I got another letter." Harry looked at her then watched her fish it out of her bag. "Same handwriting as before." She pulled it out and gave it to him, worried a little as his eyes glazed over it.

The time will soon be upon us when Voldemort will strike. I have de'Snow here with me and he says you have proven yourself very powerful. I hope he is right. Soon, everything will make sense.

An Old Friend

Harry scratched his head and looked at Lydia.

"You've gotten one like this before."

"Yes, Draco and I received it from a woman in the fire...I have to tell you, I know who she was. She was the Mage Sharia, do you know who she is?"

"Yeah we studied her in history...briefly but enough to give me chills."

"Well it was her, and I think she's planning a war against Voldemort, and she wants me to fight with her."

"But, from what we know, Voldemort's also planning on tapping you-"

Lydia smiled weakly and pulled another letter out of her bag. "You mean like this?" she asked. Harry's hands shook as he took it from her and opened it.

Meet me in the Quidditch fields at midnight, we have waited too long to meet.

Your Father,

Tom Riddle

"Are you going to go?" Harry asked as he gave it back to her.

"I don't know...Sharia warns me not to even speak to him, he wants to meet me...I don't know what to do."

"You should go to Dumbledore...he is your foster father."

"Was...now it's Lucious Malfoy."

"Well, that explains some things." Harry laughed and looked back towards the palace. "So, what did happen between you and Draco?" Lydia looked at him and then followed his gaze to the palace.

"Why do you want to know...I mean not to sound forward but aren't you with Cho? Why should you care about what happens between Draco and I?" Harry smiled and looked at her.

"I just do ok...so what happened...I saw you lead him away from everyone that day...and now, well he's been acting different. He's left us alone." He traced the spine of his books and smiled. "What'd you do to him?"

"Nothing, I mean he tried to kiss me and I freaked..."

"He tried to kiss you!?" Harry laughed and almost fell on his back.

"Yeah yeah, well its not all that bad...I didn't run because it was a disgusting prospect ok?"

"Wait, you ran away?! Oh Lord that's great!" Lydia looked at him, not amused.

"I told him it was ok that he lost...he seemed really shocked to hear that, and then he tried to kiss me...Harry, my first kiss was with Dean Tans, he looked almost just like Draco...acted like him too...Harry I turned him to stone!" Harry stopped laughing and sat up again.

"It could have just been your power kicking in Lyd-"

"No! Its me! I can't do that again, I can't risk it!"

"Why do you care? It's just Draco...half the time you hate him." He smiled a bit but stopped when he saw Lydia's face change to the worse.

"Harry, I really think, after all this time, and seeing him at some really good moments...I think I'm falling for him and it scares the shit out of me." She looked at him fighting the tears in her eyes. "I know you hate him and you have good reason to, but you don't know him like I do...sometimes he's really...sweet. And his father is mostly to blame for the part of him that you hate...I don't want that to happen to him...and when de'Snow took him...Harry I felt so horrible, I stayed with him in the hospital the entire time." Harry starred at her, amazed to hear it all.

"Wow, Lydia...we knew you two had a thing going but this is, this is serious."

"Yeah, tell me about it." She kicked at the grass and looked at Harry, loosening herself up and forcing herself to laugh a bit. "I think I'm in love with him." Harry nodded with a smile and pat her on the shoulder.

"Well, if you ever muster up the guts to let him kiss you...if he turns to stone, let me get a picture before Madam Pomphrey turns him back." They both laughed and began to study together, ignoring the impending thoughts of Voldemort and Sharia, and whatever was going on that they didn't know about.

Lydia decided to take Harry's advice and go to Dumbledore. She waited until dinner had been served and students were going off to continue studying for finals, she had successfully avoided Draco since they're little incident and he hadn't made a point to seek her out either.

She ran up to his office, remembering the password and waiting there starring at Faux. "Hey there...your feathers look nice and bright today." She said right before Dumbledore came out, he didn't look surprised to see her, and in fact she noticed he had a piece of paper folded in his hand.

"I suspected you would show up with questions very soon." He came down the stairs and smiled at her. "So are you ready to tell me all that has been going on before Riddle has to tell me tonight?"

"What?" Lydia looked at the letter a little more intensly and Dumbledore smiled and handed it to her.

Albus Dumbledore,

I want to call a temporary truce. There is a danger to both of us arising very soon. I'm sure you know who she is, my ex-wife, Sharia. Currently we are in a fight over the custody of our daughter, Lydia. I do want to thank you for taking care of her for all these years and not turning her completely against me...I must admit I wouldn't have done the same for you.

To continue, Sharia wants to destroy us all and make Mages once again the ruling power over the magical world. The Vampire's have joined her, as you may have suspected with de'Snow's silly little show he put on for all of you. Vampires though older than the most of us, were never the most brilliant of creatures, a little brash considering their age and power.

I want you to meet me and Lydia in the Quidditch fields tonight at midnight. There we can form a plan to overthrow her. I'm sure you will need me and my forces as much as I need you and yours.

I hope you do also care to take into consideration I will have my death-eaters there, and to proclaim this truce you must promise not to expose them after our alliance has taken its effects and we go back to being great enemies.

Lord Voldemort

Lydia suddenly felt a lump in her throat, this and the other letter were the most she had ever seen of her father's up front personality. She almost enjoyed his sense of humor, and his upfrontness, and then on the other hand, she was frightened by his words and his writing. Somewhere in there was a very evil and dangerous man, and he was a part of her, just like Sharia, who now she knew was her mother, was a part of her. She handed the letter back to Dumbledore shaking and took a seat.

"So, we are going to meet him?"

"I would never pass up a truce with the Dark Lord, especially when its to get rid of a bigger fish to fry." He smiled and set the letter down on his desk. "How do you feel about all this?"

"Strange." Lydia looked around. "I suppose I should tell you about my contacts with Sharia-Mother, then." Dumbledore smiled.

"That too, answers many questions." He smiled and waited for her to continue.

"I first heard of her when Professor Snape had me read about her, in detention, he said I could very likely turn into that if I didn't learn to control my temper."

"How right he was." Dumbledore laughed. Lydia smiled a bit and continued.

"And then, right after Mr. Malfoy left, after his visit, Draco and I were talking and she appeared in the fire and handed me a letter, telling me not to join my father or I would be next." She paused. "And then Draco was kidnapped by de'Snow and we found out he had also kidnapped that Hufflepuff girl-"

"Who has now gone missing."

"Tina?"

"Yes, and what's stranger yet, no one knows who she was...I don't remember enrolling her."

"Strange." Lydia remembered seeing her in the hospital, watching her and Draco talking. "Anway, I got another letter from her...She told me she has de'Snow with her, and that she has reason to believe that I'm very powerful, and that soon everything will fall into place."

"She's planning an all out war." Dumbledore interjected, his eyes tired suddenly. "We've been aware of it for a while, its as Voldemort says, she wants to take over, and use you as her main weapon." Lydia sat with her mouth gaping wide open.

"I cant fight a war-"

"We're hoping you wont have to. Is there anything else I should know?" Lydia shook her head no,

"No, that's about it." She watched him for reaction for a while, Dumbledore just moved some things around on his desk then sighed heavily.

"I will see you at midnight then. Don't let anyone know where you're going."

Lydia came back to the Slytherin common room to see Draco sitting on the couch, coping notes down on a piece of paper, and then after watching for a moment she noticed the ink was invisible.

"Are you planning on cheating?" she asked, startled he almost dropped his ink and looked up.

"Lydia." His voice was soft and he stood up. Lydia caught her breath, they hadn't talked since she had run away from him.

"Draco." She answered very matter-of-factly.

"It's been a while." He came closer to her, he looked almost sad. "I-I didn't mean to scare you off...maybe I just had the wrong idea about us." He looked down suddenly and looked back at his parchment. "You're right about some things though, me, mainly. Maybe I shouldn't, you know, care about what everybody else thinks." He looked back at her. "I'm still cheating granted, I'm not one for studying...but after you said what you said, I realized some things about my father." Lydia watched him, trying hard not to give in and tell him he was right before, about them. "I understand if you still feel awkward around me...I've been afraid to talk to you too..." he looked her in the eyes and half smiled. "I just, I've never cared before, about someone like this...I don't expect, you know, well, I wouldn't mind being, but you don't have to-"Lydia nodded.

"I understand Draco." He smiled and Lydia walked to the couch. "I just cant, not right now." He sat next to her, a little more happiness on his face.

"So you-you care, uh too?" Lydia looked at him, and slowly, scared to death, nodded.

"Just don't kiss me...not now." He nodded and came closer, hugging her instead.

"Ok, whatever you want Lydia." He whispered softly. "I never thought I'de say this, but I'll do anything for you."

The field was cold and shrowded in mist. Lydia stood with Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagal. They all wore dark cloaks and had their wands at the ready. Lydia's eyes were wide, searching the mist for her father. Then, her heart almost stopped as a group of cloaked figures approached them.

"Dumbledore." A voice, low and powerful came from one of the figures. "I'm glad you came." The figure stepped forward and the hood of the cloak removed. Lydia gasped, he looked so young.

"So you have found a person willing to submit their energy to you?" Dumbledore smiled and looked at Voldemort. "I remember you, in much that same appearance standing on the steps telling me there was nothing I needed to know."

"Yes, those days were long ago." His eyes moved over to Lydia, and to everyone's surprise he smiled. "You've gotten so big." He stepped forwards and wands flew out, he seemed sad then and stepped back. "I just wanted a closer look at my own daughter." He said angrily. Lydia felt chills, she had heard this voice before,

"Just one more raid! I swear, and then you'll have all the power you need Sharia!" his voice rang in her head, she could see them arguing in front of her crib. Her mother towered over him in rage.

"You're nothing Riddle! You're just afraid to be truly great!" her voice sounded like thunder and the walls shook.

"I AM great! I am LORD VOLDEMORT, my NAME alone causes fear in the hearts of the strong!"

Lydia shuddered and looked at her father again.

"You were serving her." She said at last, Voldemort looked at her, and smiled.

"How much do you remember?" he asked, the cloaked figures behind him took out their wands, looking at Dumbledore and the Professors. "Do you remember me?" Lydia starred at him.

"Not a lot...just that last night." He shook his head.

"Yes that night, the night I was laid to ruin by an infant."

"It was also the night she left you." Lydia chimed in, Voldemort's face cringed.

"Yes, she also left that night. After it happened, what happened with Potter I wondered what would become of you." He paused. "Amittedly if I ever had a heart...it was for you." He smiled at her, all of them were starring at him, Lydia especially, feeling something lifting off of her.

"Thank you." She said softly.

"Now we should get to business." Lucious stepped out from behind Voldemort, no one looked surprised. "How are we going to defeat Sharia?"

"Well, we've done it before." Dumbledore said with a small laugh, "So we know it not impossible...and if I remember correctly, most of the people there then, are the people here now." He looked at Voldemort when he said this, a glint of hope for permanent peace in his eyes.

"Yet she also escaped last time." Voldemort added coldly. "She killed dementors..._I _have yet to do that Albus." He sneered in a sort of jealous way. "She is very powerful, and angry. I think our best bet to keep Lydia away from her, since that is what she wants." Lydia tried not to look shocked, everytime she heard it she felt her heart skip a beat, wondering how she could ever be that valiable.

"We all know Lydia is what she wants Voldemort." Snape spat out angrily, Lydia smiled a bit, she would expect Snape to still be able to bite at Voldemort's intellect like he did everyone elses. "So why don't we find out why and do something about it...maybe use what she wants against her."

"That's what I was planning." Voldemort sneered. Wands came out again as the tension in moods grew.

"Now now children, play nice." Dumbledore laughed. "We all agree as to what to do with Lydia."

"She should come with me." Voldemort added quickly. There was a silence and Lydia's heart jumped once again, she feared, one more surprise and she would die of a heart attack.

"I think she is perfectly safe here." Dumbledore spoke calmly, Lydia looked up at him, she didn't want to leave school, but as she looked at her father, she didn't want to leave him either, dispite him being evil and all.

"We can work something out this summer." Lucious chimmed in as he took another step forward. "She is _living _with me after all." He looked at Lydia and nodded. "And will be returning to my residence this summer." Lydia looked at the ground, thinking of Draco...this was not the right moment to go on and start thinking about his arms being around her earlier that day, and how his voice sounded as he whispered gently in her ear.

"Can we just work out how to control my Mother please? I have finals to study for." She was starting to breath heavily, the cold was getting to her and she was staring to feel that this midnight meeting was going absolutely nowhere. It reminded her of watching political debates. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well," Voldemort began, his eyebrows furriowed, Lydia watching him began to realize where a lot of her facial expressions came from. "How do we kill the bitch?" there was a silence and Lydia remembered the book where she first learned about Sharia.

"The throat!" she shouted, they all turned to look at her, Voldemort smiled. "You either have to hang her, behead her or slit her throat!" she looked back at everyone. "It said so in the book Professor Snape gave me during detention." Snape smiled broadly.

"Well now we know who teaches all the _useful _information here." He earned an angry look from McGonogal but a bemused one from Dumbledore.

"So how do we get close enough to her to do this?" Lucious asked, the other Death Eaters shook their hooded heads in agreement.

"Let me side with her." Silence again, Lydia was starting to get sick of that reaction. "Well she wants me doesn't she? Let me side with her and I can-I can..." _Kill my own Mother, _rang through her head. "Do it, I can do it."

"We cant let you do that Lydia, its far to dangerous and hard on you." Dumbledore looked at her with an understanding smile.

"Then send someone trustworthy with her." Voldemort added..."and one of us can go in another form easily."

"That's far to risky." Dumbledore sighed. "She'll want Lydia and Lydia alone." There were murmurs all around her. She looked at the ground.

"Couldn't I convince her that I wont go alone?"

"I wont let you do it Lydia." Dumbledore spoke sternly, Lydia blinked, she had never heard him talk to anyone like that before, and somehow she felt a little slighted.

"But you'll let Harry face Voldemort, a basilisk, dementors, what have you...and I cant face my own mother!?" there were nods of agreement from the death eaters, Voldemort smiled in a "that's my daughter" sort of way. Lydia was breathing heavily, and her face was becoming very red. Dumbledore looked at her softly.

"Harry, did these things without my permission."

"But not without your knowledge!" Lydia bit out, more nods, and the professors eyebrows raised. Dumbledore started to look flushed.

"Granted I let Harry do these things, but with Harry, I never had the slightest fear that he would come out of his excursion dead." Lydia shut her mouth, and looked down, she too, could see herself dying if she went through with this, in fact that dream, came to her mind, of her dying, as if it were in a movie, she could see herself fall and then lay motionless on the floor.

"I agree with you, I am risking my life here...but look at the dangers if I don't...the whole wizarding world could be enslaved if she goes through with her plan. And, I feel if I don't do anything when I know I could have, I'll have that on myself to blame."

Dumbledore looked at her for a moment, she could see both his and her father's eyes on her, neither looked like they really wanted her to do it, but both looked proud. "It looks like I cant stop you. Let's work out a plan."

15

**Tina Harris**

Much talk had gone on since the Hufflepuff attendance had been brought out and proven that no Tina Harris had ever been enrolled into Hogwarts, Lydia tried to ignore the talk, thinking more back on that stupid article from the beginning of the year. She had long since figured out that it was her mother that had made those Wizards disappear, they were probably her slaves in some underground militia, planning to take over the world.

What really made her nervous though was the Tina Harris talk.

"Draco," they were sitting on the couch together in the Slytherin common room, he was actually studying but seemed a little distracted by someone's toad that had gotten loose. "Draco..."

"Huh? What? I was studying!" he looked at her with his eyes wide, "Oh...what?"

"About Tina..." she turned in her seat, putting her arm on the back of the couch. Ever since that day she met her father the whole school had come to the understanding that her and Draco had become, well sort of a couple. Harry and Ron had yet to let her live it down, but Hermoine seemed happier.

"You have to admit he's been in a much better mood since the whole affair started, he's certainly been attacking us less and less."

Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, what about her?" Lydia looked over the back of the couch, away from him.

"I don't think she was what we thought she was."

"If that's all Lyd, I'm going to have to say that was a rather daft statement."

"Draco just listen to me...I think she was someone else in disguise...like...Sharia." His mouth dropped for a second and he took Lydia's hand.

"I don't think you should concern yourself with Sharia, let the adults handle something for once ok Lyd?" she felt nervous again, even though he promised not to kiss her, at these moments it always looked like he was about to.

"Draco...I have something else to tell you." She looked at him in the eyes, he looked open to be told, but something was still telling her, well she knew that if she told him. He would become that over protective him from the beginning of the year and not let her go through with her plan. "Draco, I've met with my father, he's teaming up with Dumbledore to defeat Sharia, she's the one who took those wizards, who controls de'Snow and the rest of the Vampires, she plans to take over the Wizarding World...and she's my mother." She gave Draco a moment to take the first part in before laying the second part on him.

"When did all this happen?"

"About a week ago...we met at midnight, no one else is supposed to know...but I figured, you should." She looked at him, he didn't look mad, but he wasn't happy either.

"I knew about Sharia being your mother...my father told me, you weren't supposed to find that out but I guess Snape ruined that one." Lydia nodded, she remembered, when Lucious had come to visit wondering if Draco knew.

"So, what's the rest?" he asked, looking at her straight in the eyes.

"I've decided to let her take me," she leant in close to his ear so no one could hear. "And then I'm going to be the one to kill her." Draco's eyes went wide and he began to shake his head no as he stood up and pointed his finger at her.

"No, I'm not letting you go through with this!" Lydia was taken aback, she expected him not to agree, but not to get so angry.

"Draco, I have to, I'm the only one who can!"

"No! No you'll be killed!" he turned away from her and she could see him shaking. "I wont let that happen Lydia, you're the only one who makes it worth it sometimes..." he cut himself off, she knew he was refurring to his father and how he treated him, to everyone at the school expecting him to be a snot all the time, not letting him have a chance to be in a good mood for once.

"Draco, I have to do this, I understand you don't want me to...but this-this isn't your choice." He turned on his heel, his face was red.

"Fine, go get yourself killed, I don't care." Lydia looked at him in shock as he ran up to his room, she could hear him slam his door from the couch.

"That went well." She murmerd to herself from the couch, she walked out of the common room, feeling it was very selfish of Draco to add problems to their relationship while she already had plenty of things to worry about stacked up on her plate. She ran out to the Quidditch field, trying to think of that morning's football game, Draco had joined her and she laughed as she though to herself he finally found a sport he was good at. But, just as she finished laughing she was angry again, thinking of his reaction to her decision to take on Sharia. She sat down and looked at the hoops for Quidditch standing alone in the sky, inviting her to throw something through them.

She looked up as the Gryffindor team came out, ready for practice.

"What are you doing here? Spying?" one of them asked before they could see who she was.

"No, I'll leave." She got up, dusting herself off.

"Lydia!" Harry called, he waved and smiled. He had become much nicer since she had distracted Draco from giving him a hard time. "Hey, what are you doing out here?" he asked a little more nicely than the first person to ask her.

"Nothing really, just came out here to think." She walked to them, Angela looked ready to start, and gave Lydia a heavy glare for holding them up. Harry nodded and switched arms that he held his broom with.

"Come talk to me later...ok?" Lydia nodded, she could tell he knew something was wrong with her.

"Yeah, well I better let you all start." She walked off, feeling just as down as when she first walked out onto the fields. She walked back into the Slytherin commons, Draco was not there waiting as she had hoped. Even though she was angry with him, she wanted nothing more than his support, for him to hold her and tell her she would be ok. She scoffed, yeah she could expect _that _from Draco, granted he had really changed for the better, but he hadn't changed _that _much. She plopped down on the couch, picking up Draco's book, trying to get her mind off of everything.

After about thirty minutes she heard a popping, she put the book down and got up. It was coming from just outside the entrance. She got up slowly, listening for more pops.

"Hello?" she called, feeling the skin on the back of her neck tingle. She opened the entrance way and looked out, and there in the hall throwing down little pinky nail size baggies of gun powder stood Tina Harris, smiling broadly and looking like she had just passed through hell. "Tina?" Lydia asked with a shaky voice. "Tina what are you doing? Where have you been..."she paused, Tina contined to throw the little bags, and giggle everytime they popped. "Tina?" Lydia asked again as she came closer, suddenly Tina looked up with her eyes glowing.

"I have a message for you." Her head started to turn to a very unnatural angle, Lydia shuddered.

"And what might that be?"

"Sharia has heard of your decision, and that you don't want to go alone, she will allow you to bring one friend." Tina's voice had turned very sing-songy, as if it were a little freakish poem.

"Ok...when will she come for me?"

"She wants you to meet her on the last day of your finals, out by the lake. Then she will take you. She is glad that you have chosen so wisely." Lydia nodded, feeling very frightened.

"How did she find out about my decision?"

"Your father, sent her a very nasty note for turning you against him..." she trailed for a second then twitched and stiffly brought her head up straight. "He said you met and you tried to kill him...is that true?"

"Ye-yes...yeah." Lydia wondered if that was all part of the plan...but she didn't get long to wonder.

"Good, remember by the lake, she will be waiting for you. And you get one friend...she knows you don't trust her enough to go alone." Tina giggled, threw a baggie then dissapered. Lydia stood there, staring at the place where Tina had been, her heart pumping fast and her skin feeling claimy.

After a few moments she ran back into the Slytherin common room and over to the boys area, as she stepped on the stairs there was a howl and then the stairs fell, she growled and held onto the banister and pulled herself up.

"Draco!" she screamed as she reached his floor, she was so scared and alarmed that she didn't notice the blisters forming on her hands from pulling herself up. "Draco which room!?" she hadn't thought of that, she had just run up, expecting to know. Many of the boys poked their heads out wondering what was going on, lots cheered that there was a girl in the boy's dorms. The others looked a little angry and slammed their doors shut. "Draco please!" very slowly a door at the end of the hall creaked open and Draco came out, looking very curious.

"Lydia, what are you- whoah whats wrong?" he ran to her and lead her back to his room, pushing out his roommates and shutting the door behind him. He then sat her down on the bed and put some blankets over her shoulders. "What happened?"

"Tina, in the hall...my mother, she knows im going to join her...Voldemor- my father told her I tried to kill him and I was on her side. She said I can bring one person with me..." Draco sat next to her, looking very serious.

"One person?"

"Draco no...I wont let you."

"You can't take Dumbledore, if that's who you're thinking about bringing, she'll see right through it. But if you take me, another student...and your boyfriend at that...well that's perfectly natural."

"No Draco." He looked at her angrily.

"Oh so its alright for you to risk your life but its not alright for me to do it for you?" Lydia looked down at her feet.

"We should ask Dumbledore about it."

"Why does he need to know...frankly the more people that know, the more able she's going to be to find out about your planned treason." Lydia frowned.

"I'm going to let you come with me, but Dumbledore needs to know about it...or else I wont let you." Draco let out a heavy sigh.

"You know, you're more stubborn than I am."

16

**The Agreement**

Finals were not the first thing on Lydia and Draco's mind, they sat in the library for hours on end of course, but they weren't studying for finals...they were studying stories of how the wizards revolted against the mages. Harry, Ron and Hermoine sat across the library, taking time to look at them and laugh every now and then. Their giggles would make Draco stiffen and want to turn and yell something obscene at them, it wasn't too hard to not bother them, but not to respond to their taunts was another thing entirely.

"They're not laughing at you." Lydia said tiredly under her breath as she kept her eyes on the book. Draco whipped his head around and gave them a sour look. Ready to start up with them right where he left off.

"You know, since they're your friends, I on my own have decided to cut those prats a break...but if they so much as think I've gone soft they have another thing coming-"

"Draco...I appreciate you leaving my friends alone...but really, they're not laughing at you."

"Really? I don't believe you." Lydia looked up and laughed, Draco's face had gone red and his ears were almost glowing.

"Actually, now that I look at you...yep they probably are laughing at you."

"That's not funny." He snapped and glared at her.

"Really, we all seem to think so."

"Are you my girlfriend or not?"

"I am."

"So you're supposed to back me up right?"

"Sure."

"So stop laughing at me."

"Stop acting funny." Lydia smiled at him and touched his hand. He looked at her, still a little angry.

"I'm going to go talk to them."

"Be nice."

"Yeah, sure." He groaned as he got up and head towards their table. "What's so funny Potter?" he spat out Harry's name as if it were a bad taste in his mouth, and looked at Ron and Hermoine in his old way of them being the dirt under his shoes.

"Nothing...just the sight of you...studying so hard...we couldn't help ourselves." Ron could hardly talk between his gasps of air from laughing. Hermoine had stopped, feeling maybe they should have just left him alone.

"You don't think I study?"

"We don't think you can read." Harry answered blunty, then began to laugh.

"Right." Draco turned even redder and began to take out his wand.

"Draco no! We're sorry!" Hermoine stood up, waving her arms in front of him to block him. He looked at her, freezing his wand in the air, his arm was stiff and almost like stone. Lydia stood up as well, ready to go over there.

"You really test me Potter...I can always start up our old ways of doing things...I'm sure _certain _people will understand the circumstances." There was a silence as they all glared at each other, Lydia came over and touched Draco's arm.

"Dra-"

"No...let Potter answer me!" Lydia jumped back a bit, seeing him truly angry fightened her a little.

"We don't have to go back to normal." Harry spoke plainly, "But our normal was clearly your fault."

"_Excuse _me!?!?!?! Who refused _who's _hand Potter!? WHO!?" Draco was shaking. "YOU did, you made us enemies from the beginning!"

"You insulted my friends!" Harry stood up, getting just as angry. Lydia stood puzzled, she didn't know about all this past history.

"Your friends are mudbloods and the _Weasley's!"_ Draco shouted, Lydia looked at her feet.

"So what!" Harry shouted. "If that's all you care about I'm surpised you have any friends at all! Let alone a girlfriend!" everyone in the library had been watching for some time, even McGongal who had been watching everyone was frozen in her chair.

"Take that back!" Draco got right in Harry's face, almost spitting on him. Harry didn't look much less angry, his eyes were going red and his whole body shaking.

"No." he spoke very evenly and plainly. "No I wont." He smiled. "I have a question for you Malfoy...if Lydia were a mudblood, would you still have liked her? Or is it just because she's Voldemort's daughter and you want to make your dear old daddy happy?" There was a long pause, Lydia starred at Draco, curious of his answer. That thought hadn't really occurred to her before. "So its true." Harry backed off. "I think you've got some serious issues Malfoy." Draco was shaking, he looked at Lydia.

"That's not true...I wouldn't care if you were a muggle even." Harry looked at him, in fact everyone looked shocked.

"You're lying." Ron murmered. "You wouldn't give her the time of day if she was a muggle!"

"That's not true...I don't care who her father is, in fact, I was afraid of her at first for that...that's why I was so controlling." He kept his eyes on Lydia. "Lydia, I don't care what you are ok?"

"Then you shouldt care about them either, being what they are." She said very quietly. Draco gave her a pleading look, then he looked back at Harry. "Fine, I wont call her a mudblood anymore...and I'll-I'll _try _to stop teasing Weas- uh Ron." There was a long pause, and then Draco picked up his sneer again. "But that doesn't make us friends either!" Harry nodded.

"Good enough for me."

"Good."

"Fine."

"It's settled then." Draco turned back to Lydia, who had her arms crossed and her eyes averted to the floor.

"Settled." The three sat back down, not talking to each other for a moment. Draco went back to his table and Lydia eventually followed.

"Was all that completely necessary?" she asked as she sat down, she didn't know exactly what she was feeling, but she knew for some reason she believed Draco when he said it didn't matter to him what she was.

"I think it was...man that was bottled up for what? Six years?" he laughed a bit. "It's kind of stupid sometimes...I guess we just never figured to talk about why we really hate eachother."

"Well as long as you have an agreement."

17

**Dumbledore**

Lydia looked at Draco nervously, they were waiting in Dumbledore's office they had been waiting for almost half an hour.

"Where is he?" she asked as Draco sat bouncing his foot impatiently.

"You think I know? Bloody Hell Lydia I'm not his mother." Lydia rolled her eyes and looked around.

"He knew we were coming to see him."

"Right."

"He's never been late before."

"Don't say never...cuz that means he's not late now." Lydia gave Draco a sharp look.

"Don't quit your day job because your logic sucks." She got up and began to pace back and forth, Draco watched her coolly,

"I don't think he's coming"

"Don't say that."

"Well I don't." Draco scoffed, crossing his arms. "Probably forgot. Or he's avoiding us...knows its about Sharia."

"Stop it." Lydia glared at him. "He's coming."

"Right." Draco laughed and looked around. "Clutterd office he's got here...my father would have a few words to say about this."

"Shut-up, Jesus Draco can't you go two seconds without talking!?" she saw him laugh a bit and realized her nerves were making her cranky. "I'm sorry...its just, I have a bad feeling." She sat down next to him and put her head in her hands. "Have you seen him around at all today?" Draco straighted up in his chair.

"No actually...should we ask another teacher?"

"Yes." Lydia jumped up out of her seat and ran out, Draco fighting to catch up with her ran out as well, almost tripping over a stack of books.

"Lydia wait up!" he grabbed the trail of her robe as she ran, only holding her back for a second, finally she stopped outside of Snape's office.

"Draco-"she turned and looked at him, clearly out of breath and flushed, Draco wiped her hair out of her face. "Draco, I think Dumbledore's been taken, by Sharia...who would be better to enslave? I bet she has my father too..." she banged on Snape's office door, praying she wouldn't discover she was right about the rest, That Sharia had made her first move, taken all the adult Wizards. There was no answer, she ran back out to the halls and looked around, it was filled with students, not even Filtch was walking around. "Draco...we have to do something."

"We cant tell anyone." He said quickly, reaching out for Lydia's hand, she took it knowing he must be as frighted as she was.

"The lake, she's waiting." She looked at Draco, he looked back and shook his head.

"No we cant go just yet...I have a plan..." he dragged her down to the dungeon where they had potions. "We have to switch places."

"What? Draco, you're not making any sense...and besides it takes a month to make polyjuice potion." He smiled frantically and began pulling bottles out of the cabinets throwing them every which way.

"Yes yes I _know _that...bloody hell does everyone think I'm _stupid _around here or something!?" Lydia stood silent as she watched him, he looked crazy throwing bottles around around, some of them when they hit the floor burst open and making popping noises, others smoked and other burnt holes into the floor.

"What are you doing then?" she asked shakily, feeling nervous. "Draco, you're kinda ummm scarring me here." He looked up and around at her, his eyes going soft.

"Snape keeps some hidden, in case people need it in a hurry..." he went back to searching, Lydia almost laughed.

"Of course he would tell _you." _Draco shook his head and a made a mocking noise.

"Yeah yeah, teachers pet, I don't need to hear it from you ok....here it is!" he brought it out his face beaming.

"Draco...why do you want to switch places?"

"She wont expect _me _to try and kill her will she?" he had a point sadly. Lydia shook her head no softly.

"If she expects me to kill her at all."

"Still, she thinks I'm just a kid, with a kids power, but if you're me...you can kill her _as _me, take her by total surprise!"

"What if she sees through it?" Lydia asked with her arms crossed and looking very doubtedly at the potion in Draco's hand.

"Don't you trust me?"

"Yes of course...but I don't trust Sharia." He nodded.

"I see your point, I really do." He set the potion down and grabbed her hands in his. "But if she does, that will still give us enough time for you to attack her...trust me ok...I cant go without you being guarded somehow...and what better way for me to protect you than if I _am _you?" Lydia nodded.

"Fine, I don't have any better ideas." She looked at him, this was one of those moments, when somehow he just seemed perfect. She felt the bracelet grow a little warm and made her whole arm feel like it was in a warm bath. "So what do we do?"

"Well for starters...put a hair from you in one, and a hair from me in the other, and then we...we change into eachother's clothes." Lydia laughed, she would get to see Draco in her clothes, and that was the day she had decided to wear her leather mini skirt and white tank top with pink KISS lips on it.

"Perfect timing." She laughed as she removed her robe. Draco looked at her, seeing no humor in the situation.

"Are we changing down here...in-in front of eachother?" his voice squeaked on the 'front' and Lydia laughed.

"Do we have time to go up to our rooms? What are you afraid of? Have some hideous mole I don't know about or something?" Draco blushed horribly and began to strip, neither of them took their eyes off eachother, and quickly exchanged robes, fighting the urge to well...take a break and enjoy the view. Lydia tried to keep from laughing as Draco fumbled with her bra and then squeezed into her skirt. "How do you feel comfortable in these things?" he groaned as he zipped up the skirt. "This is dreadful." She laughed and slipped his clothes on easily, she could smell him on her, as if it filled her nostrils.

"Really, I don't think so at all." She smiled and pulled a hair from her head, Draco did the same and they grabbed a glass and put them into them. "How long is this one supposed to last?" she asked, starring at the glass.

"Well Snape said this one especially lasts until you make contact with the other person and think about changing back." Lydia looked at him with her eyes wide.

"You mean, there's-there's no _time _limit?"

"No." Draco took a deep breath. "Snape's special brew I guess." He looked at her, and smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be fine." Lydia nodded and pulled him close, figuring now would be a great time to get over Dean. She kissed him slowly and carefully, hoping to God she didn't turn him to stone while he was stuck in her clothes and wearing her favorite bra.

Draco looked at her as she pulled back, he smiled a little and rose his glass.

"Cheers."

18

**The Lake **

Lydia was taking a while getting used to being Draco, she kept feeling off balance with out her feet, and having his big ones, the feeling of having no chest and a lack of hips threw her and then his smell, it filled her. She looked over, Draco seemed to be having a little trouble as well, he kept looking at down at her cleavage and smiling then looking back up again as if he just didn't sneak a peak.

"You cant keep doing that around Sharia you know."

"Doing what?" he asked with a sly smile.

"You know...if you really want to see that bad...I can show you later ok?" he blushed and looked forward.

"I have no clue as to what you're talking about." She laughed, it was funny seeing herself talk, hearing herself talk. Seeing her facial expressions, it was better than a mirror. She laughed, _and I thought my but was big. _She felt almost disappointed as she looked round at it... _now I wouldn't mind for a little extra. _She slicked back Draco's hair and thought to herself, _he must condition, _and laughed again. "And you can't keep giggling like that...I don't giggle." He snapped. Lydia looked at him, and laughed more to see such a scowl on her face.

"Well...you do now." She earned another glare and quickly bit the inside of his cheek to stop herself. They saw the lake, it was covered in a green mist, it smelled like sulfer as they came into it. "Where is she?" she asked, reaching out for Draco's, her hand, but quickly pulling back, the boys don't reach for hands in these times...the girls do. To her relief Draco did reach out and grab hers, he squeezed tightly.

"There." He pointed to a spot on the lake, in the middle, where a beautiful woman was floating, her black hair flying around her as if it had a mind of its own.

"Oh my-"Lydia closed her mouth, or rather, Draco's mouth and squeezed her hand just as tight. "She's, she looks powerful...she-she's its terrifying." Draco looked at her and smiled reassuringly.

"It's ok...she's not after you now...its me." He looked forward almost bravely and watched Sharia step onto the ground like she was stepping down from a throne.

"My child." She smiled, Lydia thought she looked like the chestsire cat from alice in wonderland. "You have come...I wasn't sure if you would notice all the adults being gone and come early or not." She came forward and touched Draco's shoulder, Lydia suddenly had no clue of what to do. "And who is this?" Sharia looked over at her, her eyes were a flaming green.

"Uh-uh," Draco seemed to have lost his train of thought too, "My gi- my boyfriend." He said with a slight flinch to himself. Lydia's heartrate began to soar.

"I see...ah yes, Draco Malfoy...hahahaha de'Snow is quite a fan of _you..._he said your blood was just...delishious." Draco coughed.

"Yes, well can we go now?" he asked, Lydia understood his desire to change the subject. Sharia looked back at him and smiled.

"Well, well, eager to get started are we?" she touched his shoulder again and smiled. "Follow me out onto the lake." Lydia looked at the lake.

"But we cant walk on water too." She said shakily, she had only heard Draco's voice like that once, and once again her mind was brought back to his experience with de'Snow.

"With me child, you can do anything." She parted the mists and pulled them out onto the water, it was like stepping onto very thick glass. Draco stumbled a bit then regained his balance, holding onto Sharia. Lydia could only think, _Thank God he's a girl right now..._she stepped out strongly and boldly, suddenly feeling like this was the most natural thing in the world, Sharia watched her closely. "You're very graceful boy." She did not sound pleased as Draco finally fully stood up, a nervous look on his face.

"Yes well...this is a lot like ice scating back home."

"Your father lets you ice scate? Isn't that a _muggle _activity?" Draco looked back at her with panic all over his face.

"I uh- well he didn't _let _me, but I would do it anyway." Sharia nodded and led them to the center of the lake, just then Lydia noticed that it was a portal. They didn't say anything as she lead them through, it was almost painful how hard the wind blew at them in the pitch black darkness, Lydia was sure she was screaming but she couldn't hear it. But she could still feel Draco's hand. Then, suddenly they were in a field of green grass and it was raining. Sharia looked up at the sky and it cleared then turned immediately to night.

"They think they can control me." She spat as she lead them on, her grip on Draco tightening, "They think they can trick me." Lydia gulped...Tina lied. They came close to a large stone palace that Lydia hadn't noticed before. "But you're here now aren't you...and obviously you're not nearly powerful enough to kill me." Sharia shot a glare like acid back at Draco, his eyes went wide. They entered the palace and right there in the front room, hundreds of wizards and witches were chained to the walls, others to the floors. Lydia saw her father hanging from the chandelier by his wrists, twirling about lifelessly. Dumbledore chained to a chair, murmering senselessly to himself. She saw herself flinch as Draco saw his parents to a corner, looking like they had just been kissed by dementors, and governing the whole mess, walking about with wide smiles on their faces lurked the vampires, and de'Snow.

19

**Facing the Unexpected**

"Oh little _Draco!" _de'Snow shouted as he ran from fooling with Snape's hair to Lydia, his arms wide open and a large smile on his face. Lydia froze up, very scared that if he drained her, she wouldn't be able to go through with the plan. Sharia pushed de'Snow back.

"You fool!" de'Snow looked at her, very confused.

"What!?" he looked at her, his vampire eyes burning. "What have I done now?" Sharia shook her head and looked around.

"I told you to get these people _organized!_" de'Snow looked around, shrugged and looked back at Sharia.

"Well _I _thought they were....I organized them by class you see. The ones on the floor are just common wizards." Draco's eyes furrowed as he noticed his parents were on the floor in a corner.

"but, my mothers a vela." He said lowly, Lydia nudged him a bit.

"And the important ones on chairs, or on chandeliers." He laughed a bit and pointed up to Voldemort, spinning slowly. "I think he makes an excellent addition to it don't you?" Sharia sneered and gave him a zap with her eyes.

"Take him down! I want them all separated...in rooms!" de'Snow bowed low then looked at Lydia and winked.

"See you later handsome." He ran around talking to the other vampires, ordering that they organize them in rooms.

"They were all allowed together last time...and so once the mind spell began to fade, they were able to organize a rebellion." She told Draco as they walked through the room and back to a large library. "but lets get to the business at hand." She sat down, and pressed her hands together while resting her elbows on the arms of her chair. "You were going to kill me, dear Lydia?" she smiled a bit and Draco gulped. "When I got Tom, he gave it all away, a simple truth charm fixed him right up...oh he _is _a bitter old man...sending you after me and all..." Lydia looked at Draco, he looked very worried. "Now how can I trust you?" she clicked her tounge and kept her eyes on Draco. "Oh Lydia, kill your own mother?" Lydia kept her eyes on Sharia, suddenly feeling like the woman could read her mind, and becoming very scared. "I should punish you...to set you straight." Draco stepped forward a bit, but he didn't expect the sudden blast that sent Lydia flying back and crashing against the bookshelf. He looked back in shock, making a face like he was screaming but no sound came out, and then a look of utter rage. He looked back at Sharia and she sat there just laughing. Lydia looked up, then coughed up some blood and tried to get herself up. "Never betray me...or he dies next time."

20

**Draco's Mistake**

Draco nodded slowly, fighting hard to control his rage, knowing he couldn't take on Sharia.

"I've learned my lesson." He thought of all the times his father had smacked him to the ground for something stupid, and how he would just look up at him and say, _Yes Father, I've learned my lesson. _His eyes seemed so cold as he looked at Sharia. Lydia pulled herself up, using the bookshelf for support.

"Good, now to utilize you." She stood up, and curled her fingers, beckoning Draco forward, or more so forcing him. He felt as if an invisible string were pulling him across the room. Soon he was only a foot away from Sharia and she smiled. "You remind me so of your father, before he lost his drive, his _true _ambition...I see it in your eyes, you will be something great one day...don't loose that spark." Lydia knew it was Draco's eyes she was seeing into, she didn't want to do anything great with her life...maybe just be happy. She stayed by the book shelf, gathering herself, the room was swirling a bit and the scene was fading in and out. She locked her eyes on Draco...she could almost see him standing there and not herself. NO she had to pull herself out of it, she couldn't go now, she wondered how hard she had been thrown against the shelf. "You see I have almost every adult Wizard in the world, enslaved in this palace..." Sharia's voice sounded so far away, Lydia closed her eyes, she had heard her speak so softly before, standing over her crib, touching her hair.

"You will be so powerful Lydia, my own, my Lydia." The memory faded and Lydia forced her eyes back open. She tried to remember her father, she tried to hear his voice, there was a time, if he had a heart, she was it.

But she felt too weak, and all she could see was him dangling from that chandelier, Dumbledore tied to a chair, Snape chained to a wall, Hagrid on the floor with other wizards and witches piled over his legs, Lucious in a corner with an insane little smile on his face, stroaking Narcissa's hair.

"Lydia, one day, you will control them, one day I will fade into nonexsistance, there comes a time when a mage must do that...even I the mighty Sharia abide by those rules, and the time will come when you must do the same....oh no...silly me....you're half _human._" She said the word like Draco would say muggle, as if it were some vile tasting word that clogged the mouth. "You're time wont be that long...who know's you might even age...mages aren't mixed with human's usually...the elders said it was too dangerous...discouraged Tom and I...but I saw his power, his ambition, no other would do you see...so we took the chance, and then you came...and he passed all that I saw in him, down to you...and was destroyed by a little helpless baby." She began to laugh, tossing her head back and her hair flew about, her body shook and Draco stepped back, a little frightened.

"Sure." He mustered out, Sharia quickly stopped laughing and looked hard at him.

"Do you know why I fought so hard for you child?"

"Because you love me?" Sharia laughed again, but this time right in his face, with her eyes wide and her mouth open.

"LOVE? _Me....Love?" _she laughed again and touched Draco's shoulder. "No no no no no child. That's not right." Lydia felt a wrenching in her stomach. She suddenly hated this woman who was touching Draco, who laughed in his face, who told her, from across the room that she didn't love her. "Ten points from Slytherin!" she laughed, so hard her eyes began to tear. "Oh I remember that...points...hahahahahahaha some children just took it so seriously...Tom especially, oh and how I _loved _taking points from him!" she threw her head back again. "Perfect Prefect Tom!" Draco looked back at Lydia, his eyes scared and his whole stance unsure. "Hahahahaha, no Lydia, its not because of love, its all power...you a mere child, can do more than what I could do when I had you." She looked Draco right in the eyes. "You will be my second in command...my partner...my princess." There was a freaky glint in her eyes as she suddenly appeared across the room with a book in her hands. "That was the last mistake...only one mage ruled them all you see...we should really work in pairs...that was my intent in the beginning, why I wanted to have you." She smiled as if a great pleasure traveled over her body and tilted her head to the side. "And he," she pointed to Lydia. "He is only here for you to reproduce...I knew you would bring your little...boy toy." Draco blushed furiously, but not out of embarrassment. "Your princess shall come from him! Look at how he looks at me...just like Tom!" she laughed again. "Only a little better looking I must say...a little more royalty in his blood I gather..." she smiled and walked over to Lydia, who shook horribly. Sharia grabbed her by the back of her neck and layed one on her, Draco starred dumbfounded. Lydia, looked at her mother up in shock when she finished, feeling like she had just been scarred for life. And then out of nowhere Sharia smacked her across the room. "Have to train them good though." She giggled as Lydia slid into a table, knocking it down. Draco couldn't take anymore, he ran at Sharia, with his own wand out at the ready, screaming. Sharia defiantly was caught off guard, but not so much that Draco would get her. She appeared at Lydia's side and held her up in front of her. "Behave yourself girl." She threw Lydia down and raised her hand, Draco with eyes wide dove in front before the blast could hit her, and then fell to the ground, motionless. Lydia sat up, her eyes prematurely watering, its as if her body knew before she did, Draco was dead.

21

**Stuck**

"Well shit." Sharia lowered her hand and looked down at Draco. "She wasn't supposed to do that." Lydia began to shake, it had all gone so very wrong...she was supposed to die, not Draco she had seen it...saw herself die...then it hit her. She _had _seen herself die, as if she were watching it happen, she had watched it happen. "Now what do I do?" Sharia asked as she stood over Draco. "Why were you using a wand anyway?" Lydia stood up behind her, fuming, tears streaking her cheeks. Her bracelet, which she had kept on, began to burn with her anger.

"MOTHER!" she shouted, her fists clentched with rage, Sharia turned on her heels, her eyes wide.

"LYDIA! YOU CONNIVING LITTLE BITCH!" she dove at her, eyes flashing, they both fell to the ground, choking eachtother shouting out curses neither could understand. "I HATE TRICKS!" she shouted clearly as they rolled up against another table, knocking it over, Lydia could hear pounding on the door.

"Lydia!" Dumbledore shouted from the other side.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sharia shouted as she looked back at the door. Lydia tightened her grip around her mother's neck, holding as tight as she could. "THEY CANT BE FREE!" she stood up, with Lydia cliging to her neck, her movements were slow and she tried clawing at Lydia, trying to pull her off. Lydia held tight, glad she had Draco's strong hands at the moment, when she realized if she had her own, she would not have been able to hold on so long...as if it were meant to be this way.

"LYDIA!" she heard her father's voice then, and tightened her grip, Sharia began to fall to her knees, gasping.

"Tom." She whispered, her eyes starting to fade to a murky green, Lydia started to feel herself go weak, her mother seemed to age before her eyes, her hair fading to grey, thinning and loosing life, her skin melting away. "Oh Tom." She murmered again before she finally collapsed. Lydia waited a while, with her hands still around Sharia's throat, Dumbledore and Voldemort burst in, looking around, both looked shocked to see Draco with his hands around Sharia's neck and Lydia lying lifeless on the floor.

Lydia sat in Draco's room, trying hard not to think of what she was going to do, it had been a week and she was still in Draco's body, unable to tell anyone the truth...everytime she did she would almost burst into tears and then remembered, Draco would only cry in front of her.

No one but the adults knew of what happened, and only a few of them at that. Dumbledore had made sure of that, and Voldemort quickly dissapered after seeing Lydia's body on the floor... and his ex-wife killed by a 6th year student. They all ended the school year like nothing happened, all though the teachers treated Draco a little differently, Dumbledore told those who asked that Lydia had been ill for some time and they didn't find out until she had died in her sleep.

They held a small funeral after all the students had head home, Dumbledore, Snape, McGonogal, Hagrid, the Malfoy's and all of the Hogwarts faculty sat and watched as Lydia put her body in the lake, figuring that's where Draco wouldn't mind being anyway...in a nice tranquil place where he wouldn't be covered in mud.

"Hey Honey." Narcissa came in holding some cookies on a tray, with a little unsure smile. "I brought you these, you know for a little snack? Harry wrote today...was wondering how you were doing..."

"Harry Potter?" Lydia asked, wondering why Harry would be concerned about Draco.

"Dumbledore told him the truth about Lydia, how she really died, he just wanted to share his condolences with you...if you want to read it I have it downstairs." Lydia jumped up, and ran down stairs, she grabbed the letter and looked at it.

Draco,

I realize we haven't been exactly friends over the years...but I was friends with Lydia...and well, she was a great girl. I wanted to tell you I feel really bad for you, I know you cared about her...despite what I said in the library.

I just wanted to see if you were doing alright, if you don't mind I told Ron and Hermoine too, they wanted to know...they send their condolences as well.

She died real brave though...saving you and all...and you, killing Sharia. Well, I don't think you want to hear about all that again...you know the story.

But if you ever change your mind about all us, and need some friends...you know, who care. We're here.

Harry Potter

Lydia put the letter down, tears forming in her eyes. Draco died for her, he cared about her...she wiped away the tears, still getting used to wearing Draco's clothes, sleeping in his bed...looking at his face in the mirror. It tore her up everytime she did. It's as if he wasn't really dead, as if he was smiling back at her, and then she would remember it was her own reflection...and that it was herself she would never see again...but Draco she would never have.

She kept nursing the idea of writing Snape and telling him what happened, she kept writing the letter, throwing it away and rewriting it again.

It was as if she wanted to stay stuck, just so in a way, Draco was still alive, through her.

22

**Reveiled**

"Are you ready for your last year at Hogwarts?" Narcissa asked as she smoothed Lydia's hair with a proud smile at the train station, Lydia nodded calmly, she saw Harry boarding and almost waved excitedly, she had written back over the summer and needless to say, made Draco a much nicer person when it came to their relationship.

"Bye Mum." She said quickly as Narcissa tip-toed up to kiss her cheek, she as Draco had grown at least three inches over the summer, outgrowing most of his clothes. Lydia, when they were throwing his old ones away, almost refused to let them, afraid she would loose his scent...but then realized, she _was_ his scent.

She boarded the train and head straight for the car she saw Harry head into. They looked at her a little oddly yet not angrily as she rapped on the door.

"Do you mind if I sit with you guys?" she asked, Harry smiled and cleared a seat.

"Not at all." There was a pause as Lydia sat down, looking at them she realized Draco wasn't the only one who had a growth spurt, or had the need to start shaving...Harry sported a tiny mustache that looked like he had tried to shave but cut himself repeatedly, and Ron, he looked smooth as a baby's bottom, but he had shot up to at least six feet and developed the body of a track star. Lydia looking at Hermoine felt jealous not to have her own body, the girl had really turned into a nice looking young lady.

"What?" she asked as Lydia realized she was starring.

"Oh nothing...you all, um, have grown...so much." They laughed and exchanged odd looks.

"Haven't we all?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Yeah, uh I guess." She looked out the window, seeing Draco's reflection in the glass.

"How're you feeling?" Ron asked while chewing on a chocolate frog. "I mean...with the Lydia thing."

"Ron!" Hermoine warned, Lydia just looked at them, and smiled shyly.

"I'm ok...I miss hi-her...a lot." They all nodded and changed the subject quickly, moving on to discussing their summers instead.

When she started classes, Lydia felt odd, her first day McGonogal pulled her outside and starred her hard in the face.

"You were very brave Draco...killing Sharia, but I know it must have long lasting effects on you after seeing Lydia die...she was very brave too...if you have any problems, just let me know and you can leave class." Lydia looked at her, wishing people would just forget what happened, and realized, she hadn't sacrificed her life at all, Draco had.

She reacalled earlier that summer when she first got to Draco's, her father had a big get together to welcome home his "brave son, the mage killer", Lydia sat there being congradulated, everyone saying how brave Lydia was, saying her father would have been proud, of course never speicifying which father they meant. Lucious had also let her get away with more, but dragged her out, showing her off.

"My son killed the mage Sharia." He would say as they shopped in Diagon Alley..."Isn't that amazing?" Lydia was so sick of people giving her praise, and only sometimes metioning Draco's sacrifice that by the time McGonogal had pulled her aside she was about to explode.

"I think I need to leave right now." She said as she pulled away from McGonogal's gaze. "I don't feel very well." She ran down the hall, trying to avoid curious looks from the rest of the stuends, word had spread about what really happened. Their parents must have told them, or Harry...Lydia didn't care, she just hated that people kept talking about it, trying to console her.

Finally she stopped in the courtyard and sat on the ground next to one of the benches, burying her hands into the robes, still getting used to the fact that Draco's hands were now Her hands, she couldn't let herself cry because Draco wouldn't cry like this out in the open...he wouldn't sit there sobbing. But Lydia would, and she did, unable to hold it in.

"She really meant something to you didn't she?" Hermoine asked from behind her. Lydia caught herself sharply, wiped away the tears and looked up.

"What?" she turned and starred at Hermoine. "Why are you out of class?"

"Professor McGonogal let me go...I said I wanted to check on you and she thought that was a good idea...and by the looks of things it was." She moved to sit on the bench, looking very unsure. "I know you probably still hate me-"

"Don't worry yourself about it."

"But Lydia was my friend too...we may not have been good friends, but she was nice, and Harry really liked her...despite her father and all."

"Despite her father." Lydia growled, wanting to explode to Hermoine that it was Draco that was dead, not her... and that if they knew it was Draco who died, they wouldn't be feeling so sorry, they wouldn't be lavishing fake affection on her talking about how brave he was, even though they should have. People should be saying Draco was brave, Draco died for the cause, not Lydia. But she bit the inside of her cheek and bowed her head. "Thanks Hermoine, that would have meant a lot to her to hear that." She starred at the ground, wishing Hermoine would just go away.

"Well, if you need to talk...to someone besides Crabbe and Goyle, as Harry said, we're here."

"Ok." Lydia knew she was being a little bitter, but she knew Draco would too, he wouldn't want to hear all that, Hermoine offering friendship just because his girlfriend died.

"Alright, well I'll leave you alone then..." Hermoine got up, waiting awkwardly a bit then walked off. Lydia starred at the ground some more. She wanted to tell somebody so badly, at least Draco's mother, that her son was dead...but she couldn't, besides people would think that she was insane...or more so that Draco was insane.

Lydia leaned on her desk, starring blankly into space Snape drolled on about defense against dark wizards. It was so unbearably hot, uncommon for being so far into November, she felt like she would die, wondering how Draco could stand it all those years in those heavy school uniforms. No one else looked much more comfortable, as they almost laid on their desks, pools of sweat dripping off of them.

"Draco...why don't you tell us what you know about dark wizards." Snape looked at her, she sat up slowly, feeling rather lethargic and annoyed in the heat for being called on.

"I don't know anything." She said rather matter-of-factly. "You're the teacher...you tell me." A slight snicker came from the rest of the class, Snape started to shake with anger.

"Draco Malfoy, ten points from Slytherin...and come write on the board a hundred times _I will not be cheeky."_ Lydia sighed, stood up and walked to the board. She grabbed the chalk and began to write as Snape went on, suddenly though there were gasps and laughter coming from the class. Lydia turned around, Harry was ghost white and starring at her amazed.

"LYDIA!" he shouted. Quickly she looked down, she had a chest! At her sides she could see her dark hair falling over her shoulders, Snape looked at her wide eyed, quickly ran to her and grabbed her by the arm and led her to the door, at that moment it flew open to reveal a very wet Draco wearing a little black mini skirt.

"LYDIA!" she froze, she couldn't believe her eyes. She stood there for a moment just as shocked as the rest of the class, then walked up to him, almost in disbeliefe. She touched his face and touched her own then began to cry. At first he held her, let her cry and then looked around the class, feeling rather odd by the way they were looking at him. Snape backed away his mouth gaping open.

"I-I thought you _died!" _Lydia looked up at him, he shook his head then wiped back his wet hair.

"Ha, so that explains the lake then." She laughed through her tears and hugged him again. "I wouldn't die on you Lyd...never."

"Uh Draco?" Neville raised his hand, looking rather confused. "Why are you wearing a dress?"

After a few moments Snape decided to take action and try to make sense of things, he grabbed Draco and Lydia by their collars and led them out of class.

"Just what is going on!?" He looked at Lydia, then at Draco, seeming confussed. "I thought you were dead...we all thought you were dead." He said to Lydia, she looked down and then at Draco.

"No you thought Draco was dead...we switched places before going to meet Sharia...Draco wanted to do it to protect me..." she paused and looked at him, he smiled a sort of "and that's what I did" smile. Snape frowned.

"So you've been Draco this entire time?" he seemed a little annoyed, and then sighed. "We need to bring this issue to Dumbledore."

"This is an issue?" Draco asked with a laugh. "We're all alive...isn't that enough?"

"Dumbledore will still need to know about this." He looked at Draco again and cracked a bit of a smile. "Nice skirt Malfoy." Draco looked down and blushed a bit.

"Yes yes, I know I'm in a skirt...can we get past that please?"

They were taken up to Dumbledore's office, Lydia was beginning to feel very at home there with as many times as she had visited. She waited in a chair next to Draco, her heart felt so light, he was alive and sitting right there next to her. He looked at her and smiled.

"So what was it like to be me for a while?" Lydia smiled a bit and looked at the ground.

"Interesting...I could never get used to the bathroom situation..."

"You-you used the restroom...with my bo-"he cut himself short. "Well I guess you would have too, wouldn't you?" he blushed a bit and looked at her again. Lydia knowing what he was thinking blushed too. "What else did you do with me?" he asked with a flirty smile, Lydia smiled back coyly.

"Don't worry, I didn't look too often." They laughed a bit and Dumbledore came out, with a smile on his face.

"It's nice to see your face again Lydia, and its good to have you back Draco." He looked at them and sat down. "So tell me, what happened?"

They sat alone in the medical ward for a while, Draco wrapped up in blankets and sipping soup much like he had the year before, only by now it was voluntary.

"Can't I have anymore food? I haven't eaten all summer!"

"I know." Lydia chimmed in, holding her stomach. She looked at Draco and smiled. "I thought I would never hear you complain again..."

"Well actually you would... you were stuck as me..." he laughed and slurped down some more soup then looked at Lydia. "How are you?" she looked at him and brought her knees up to her chest.

"Better now." She smiled at him, "You grew out of all your old clothes." He looked down at his clothes on the chair.

"I thought those were new robes."

"Yeah, and you have to shave now...it's a real pain...."

"I noticed...you don't have much of a knack for it do you?"

"Yeah, I guess...and uh...Harry thinks your friends now."

"Figures." Draco snorted, but he looked at Lydia deeply again. "I take it you killed her."

"Yeah...well I thought you died...everyone did...yeah, I killed her." She looked at him, "But I don't think I could have done it if I wasn't you...she was really strong...I couldn't have held on that long."

"Of course." Draco said with a smile. They both laughed a bit and then Lydia looked at him.

"How did you survive being underwater that long?" she asked, brushing some hair from her face.

"Honestly...I think I was dead...and then suddenly I just woke up...I couldn't breath so I swam up...I could hear Sharia's voice in my head though...crying for Tom...shouting...so I swam faster and then I was at the surface, and myself again, after I got to the surface I looked at the water...I think she brought me back, I don't know why...and that's when I knew I had to go find you." He smiled and sipped his soup again. "I dreamt about you for a long time...about that moment in the dungeon, before we drank the potion..." Lydia blushed and looked down.

"Yeah, I dreamt about that a lot too...I missed you so much."

"I know." He smiled and took her hand and kissed it. "but I'm not leaving you again anytime soon."


End file.
